Potential anticonvulsant activity of ethanol extracts of cichorium intybus and Taraxacum serotinum in rats

Purpose: To evaluate the acticonvulsant activity of Cichorium intybus (C. intybus) and Taraxacum serotinum (T. serotinum) in maximal electroshock (MES), as well as pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)- and strychnine nitrate (STN) - induced seizure models in rats. Methods: For each model, 8 groups of Swiss albino rats (n=10) were used. The 1st group was kept as control, 2nd as standard (diazepam, 7.5 mg/kg); 3rd - 5th were treated with C. intybus ethanol extract (125, 250 and 500 mg/kg); and 6th - 8th treated with T. serotinum extract (125, 250 and 500 mg/kg). After 30 min of administration, the rats were exposed to a shock of 150 mA by a convulsiometer, via ear electrodes for 2 s (in MES test) or sc injection of PTZ (85 mg/kg) or STN (2.5 mg/kg). Anticonvulsant activity was confirmed by abolition of hind limb tonic extension (HLTE) in MES test and by measuring the latency to PTZ or STN-induced threshold seizures, and the duration of seizures in the rats. Results: In MES model, 500 mg/kg of C. intybus and T. serotinum resulted in complete abolition of HLTE in 70 and 50 % of the rats, respectively, compared to 80 % in diazepam-medicated animals. Both extracts at 500 mg/kg prolonged latency to seizure onset in PTZ model to 144.7 and 114.7 s, respectively (vs 55.2 s in control group; p < 0.05). Both extracts failed to protect rats against STNinduced seizures. Conclusion: C. intybus and T. serotinum possess anticonvulsant effect as they both abolish HLTE induced by MES and delay the latency of seizures produced by PTZ.