Methanol leaf extract of Paullinia pinnata exerts sleep-enhancing and anticonvulsant effects via a mechanism involving the GABAergic pathway.

Purpose: Leaf extracts of Paullinia pinnata L. (Sapindaceae) are used in ethnomedicine for the treatment of central nervous system-related diseases such as insomnia and epilepsy. We determined the bioactive constituents, sleep-enhancing and anti-convulsant potentials, and possible mechanisms of action of P.