Antiepileptic activity of Viscum articulatum Burm and its isolated bioactive compound in experimentally induced convulsions in rats and mice

The whole plant of Viscum articulatum Burm has been traditionally used in India for the treatment of neurological disorders including epilepsy. The study was planned to establish the antiepileptic potential of two fractions of the extracts of Viscum articulatum in experimental animals and to identify and characterize the antiepileptic active principles in the extracts. The chloroform and the methanolic extracts of Viscum articulatum and their isolated compounds were evaluated for their antiepileptic potential in Picrotoxin and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) induced convulsion models. Estimation of brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) was carried out to investigate the mechanism of action of the extracts and the isolated compounds. The extracts and one of the isolated compounds from the methanolic fraction, Syringaresinol, exhibited a dose-dependent protection against picrotoxin and NMDA induced convulsions in rats and mice respectively. However, the chloroform fraction did not prevent NMDA induced convulsions in mice. The findings of the experiments on various animal models clearly demonstrated that the extracts and one of the isolated compounds possess antiepileptic activity, possibly by enhancing inhibitory GABAminergic neurotransmission. The results indicate that the chloroform and the methanolic extracts of Viscum articulatum and one of the isolated compounds from the methanolic fraction, Syringaresinol, showed protection against picrotoxin and NMDA induced convulsions in rats and mice respectively.