Suppressing effect of a saikosaponin-enriched extract of on alcohol and chocolate self-administration in rats.

Recent studies demonstrated that saikosaponin (SS) A and other SSs extracted from L (Apiaceae) roots abolished different behaviours motivated by drugs of abuse and palatable foods in rats. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of an SS-enriched extract fraction of roots on operant, oral self-administration of alcohol and chocolate in rats. To this end, female Sardinian alcohol-preferring and Wistar rats were trained to lever-respond for alcohol (15% v/v) and chocolate (5% w/v powdered Nesquik in water), respectively. Acute treatment with extract (0, 0.75, 1.5, and 3 mg/kg, i.p.) reduced, in a dose-related manner, both alcohol and chocolate self-administration. These data confirm the notion that extracts may be a valuable source of pharmacological agents with -addictive and anorectic potential. The use of experimental procedures with predictive validity for the human disease adds strength to the translational potential of these results.