Rauwolfia vomitoria is one of the medicinal plants which is used traditionally to manage hypertension, diabetes and mental disorder. The scientific evidence to suggest its medicinal use especially in mental health treatment is lacking. This study aimed to investigate the antidepressant-like effect of the leaf and root extracts of R. vomitoria in the rat model using neurobehavioural indices; open field test and forced swimming test. Subsequently, the effect of the extracts on monoamine neurotransmitters system was investigated. The neurobehavioral response of rats by open field test and forced swim test showed that there was a reduction in the explorative tendencies of the rats administered the aqueous and ethanol root extracts (125, 250, 500 mg/kg) compared to the control while forced swim test reduced the immobility time of rats across all treatment groups except 500 mg/kg group. Neurotransmitter levels (serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine) in plasma and brain of rats administered the different concentration of root extracts exhibited significant (p<0.05) increase. Thus, the mode of action may be due in part to the increase in monoamine levels or by suppression of the reuptake of the monoamine neurotransmitters. This study established that R. vomitoria root extract has antidepressant-like effect in rats.
Rauwolfia vomitoria is one of the medicinal plants which is used traditionally to manage hypertension, diabetes and mental disorder. This study is to investigate antidepressant‐like effect of the leaf and root aqueous and ethanol extracts of R. vomitoria in the rat model using neurobehavioural indices; open field test and forced swimming test. The effect of the plant extracts on monoamine neurotransmiters’ system was also investigated. The neurobehavioural response of rats by open field test and forced swim test showed that there was a reduction in the explorative tendencies of the rats administered the aqueous and ethanol root extracts (0, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500mg/kg) compared to the control, while forced swim test reduced the immobility time of rats across all treatment groups, except 500mg/kg group. Neurotransmitter levels (serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine) in plasma and brain of rats administered the different concentrations of root extracts exhibited significant (p <0.05) increase.The reduction in monoamine oxidase activity by the standard drugs and R. vomitoria extracts confirm that the mechanism of action R. vomitoria root extracts could be through inhibition of monoamine oxidase activity. Therefore, the mode of action may be due in part to the increase in monoamine levels or by suppression of the reuptake of the monoamine neurotransmiters. This study established that R. vomitoria root extract has antidepressant‐like effect in rats.
Bioactive compounds are the frontline potent agents in both nutraceuticals and pharmaceutical industries. The bioactive compounds are gaining much importance for their ability in enhancing resistance to various diseases and to improve the health of people both by traditional and modern ways of administrations. R. vomitoria is one of the medicinal plants used traditionally to manage hypertension, diabetes and mental disorder. This present study sought to characterize the bioactive components of R. vomitoria leaf and root ethanol extracts using Gas-Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometry (GC-MS). The results of the GC-MS analysis provide different peaks indicating the presence of 22 phytochemicals in the plant leaf and 16 phytochemicals in the root. The major bioactive compounds in the leaf were squalene (18.69%), phytol (16.47%), n-hexadecanoic acid (15.68%), 7-tetradecenal, (Z) (12.90%), 9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid, ethyl ester, (Z,Z)-, (9.56%) and others, while the roots contains; cis-vaccenic acid (32.13%), n-hexadecanoic acid (15.41%), (E)-9-octadecenoic acid ethyl ester (9.83), cyclohexanecarbonitrile 1-(-4- chlorophenyl (9.45%), 8H-azeceno[5,4-b] indol-8-one, 5-ethylidene (7.66%) and other minor compounds. Pharmacological activities of these compounds indicated that the compounds present in the leaf of the plant can be used as a crude drug which could be developed into a novel drug. Some of these compounds have antimicrobial, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, hypocholesterolemic as well as cancer preventive activities amongst others. The findings suggest that there is an indication that both R. vomitoria leaves and roots contain potent bioactive compounds that may be linked to its beneficial effects on health, with the leaf taking the lead. It is therefore recommended as a plant of phytopharmaceutical significance.
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