We evaluate the sedative and hypnotic activities of the methanolic and aqueous extract of Lavandula officinalis L. on central nervous system (CNS). In this study, the effect of the methanolic and aqueous extracts of this plant was investigated in a battery of behavioural models in mice. Stems and flowers of Lavandula officinalis L. have several therapeutic applications in folk medicine in curing or managing a wide range of diseases, including insomnia. The methanolic extract produced significant sedative effect at the doses of 200, 400, and 600 mg/kg (by oral route), compared to reference substance diazepam (DZP), and an hypnotic effect at the doses of 800 and 1000 mg/kg while the treatment of mice with the aqueous extract at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg via oral pathway significantly reduced in both the reestablishment time and number of head dips during the traction and hole-board tests. In conclusion, these results suggest that the methanolic and aqueous extracts of Lavandula officinalis possess potent sedative and hypnotic activities, which supported its therapeutic use for insomnia.

BackgroundThe present study was designed to study anxiolytic property of methanolic extracts of Urtica urens; an important and commonly used for its medicinal properties belongs to urticaceae family.MethodsThe anxiolytic activity was evaluated with the adult mice by hole board test, and the light–dark box test, and motor coordination with the rota rod test. The efficacy of the plant extract (100–400 mg/kg) was compared with the standard anxiolytic drug diazepam (1 mg/kg i.p.)ResultsThe extract increased the time spent in the brightly-lit chamber of the light/dark box, as well as in the number of times the animal crossed from one compartment to the other. Performance on the rota rod was unaffected. In the hole board test, the extract significantly increased both head-dip counts and head-dip duration. Urtica urens, in contrast to diazepam, had no effect on locomotion.ConclusionsThese results provides support for anxiolytic activity of Urtica urens, in line with its medicinal traditional use, and may also suggest a better side-effect profile of Urtica urens relative to diazepam.

Hydro-distilled essential oil (EO) from the leaves of the western Mediterranean and Moroccan endemic plant Tetraclinis articulata was analyzed by GC/MS and examined for its acute toxicity on mice, in order to establish the safe doses. Furthermore, the anti-Inflammatory activity was evaluated based on carrageenan and trauma induced rats paw edema and the antioxidant potential has been investigated using different methods including DPPH radical-scavenging assay, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and Ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP). The major identified compounds in GC/MS analysis were bornyl acetate (26.81%), camphor (22.40%) and α-pinene (7.16%), with 25 other minor constituents. No mortalities in acute toxicity were observed, indicating that the LD50 of T. articulata essential oil is highest than 5 g/kg. In the anti-inflammatory test based on chemical and mechanical induced trauma, the EO demonstrated an effective reduce swelling by 64.71 ± 9.38% and 69.09 ± 6.02% respectively obtained 6 h after administration at the dose of 200 mg/kg when compared to the control groups. Moreover in the antioxidant testing battery, T. articulata essential oil showed a promising scavenging effect measured by DPPH, TEAC and ferric-reducing power assays with IC50 values of 12.05 ± 0.24 mg/mL, 8.90 ± 0.17 mg/mL and 0.15 ± 0.01 mg/mL respectively. These results suggest that, the EO from the leaves of T. articulata constitutes a valuable source of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant metabolites. These findings argue for the possible integration of this oil in pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries.

Wound healing consists of several continuous phases involving various cells and chemical intermediates. As a rich source of nutrition elements, honey has proved to have potential benefits in the treatment of various diseases. The present study was designed to investigate the healing effect of a honey mixture with selected essential oils on chemical and thermal wound models in rabbits. Dressing mixtures of Thymus vulgaris honey with three essential oils (Origanum vulgare, Rosmarinus officinalis, and Thymus vulgaris) were prepared and applied daily in the treatment groups. These essential oils were rich in phytochemicals and had significant antibacterial activity against four selected ATCC bacterial strains. Madecasol ointment was used as a standard control. The healing effect of the mixtures was evaluated by measuring wound surface area and comparing healing time. The results showed that the healing rate in the treatment groups was significantly higher than that of the untreated group and standard group. The best healing effect for burns was seen in the mixture of honey and Thymus vulgaris essential oil, which had wound closure rates of 85.21% and 82.14% in thermal- and chemical-induced burns, respectively, and showed the shortest healing time (14 days) in comparison to other groups. Therefore, it can be concluded that honey mixtures have significant beneficial effects on skin wound healing and, thus, they may be used as a healing agent in different types of wounds in humans after specific clinical trials.

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Background: The most widely prescribed medications for anxiety disorders are the Benzodiazepines; however, they have prominent side effects. Thus, interest in alternative medicine that affects the mind is growing. In Morocco folk medicine, the use of Mercurialis annua is commonly recommended for relief of anxiety, although no scientific information supporting this use is available and therefore we undertook the study to evaluate the anxiolytic potential the methanolic extract of Ma by using a battery of appropriate rodent test models. Methods: The purpose of this study was to characterize the putative anxiolytic-like effects of methanolic extract prepared from the aerial parts of Ma using the Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) and Open Field tests (OF) in mice. The methanolic extract of Ma was administered orally to Balb/c mice, at graded doses; 1H prior to behavioural assessments. Results: In the elevated plus-maze test, methanolic extract of Ma at 100 mg/kg showed an anxiolytic effect by increasing the time spent on and the number of entries into the open arms of the EPM comparable to standard anxiolytic drug, diazepam. In an open field test methanolic extract of Ma (100 mg/kg) increased the central area crossing, the time spent and number of rearing in the center of arena. Conclusions: These observations suggest that Mercurialis annua might possess significant anxiolytic potential.