Anticonvulsant activity of hydroalcoholic extracts from Erythrina velutina and Erythrina mulungu.

The anticonvulsant effects of hydroalcoholic extracts (HAEs) from the stem bark of Erythrina velutina and Erythrina mulungu on pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) and strychnine-induced seizure tests and the potentiation of pentobarbital-induced sleeping time in mice with the extracts were examined in this study. These medicinal plants belong to the Fabaceae family and are popularly used in Brazil for their effects on the central nervous system. The extracts of Erythrina velutina (intraperitoneally or orally) and Erythrina mulungu (intraperitoneally) were administered in mice at single doses (200 or 400mg/kg).

Neuroprotective effects of caffeine in the model of 6-hydroxydopamine lesion in rats.

The work shows the effects of caffeine after the intrastriatal injection of 6-OHDA in rats, considered as a model of Parkinson disease (PD). Two weeks after the 6-OHDA lesion, rats exhibit a characteristic rotation behavior as a response to the apomorphine challenge. Our results showed significant increases in the number of apomorphine-induced rotations in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats, as compared to sham-operated animals.