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Advances in Pharmacological Sciences
Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 270824, 5 pages
doi:10.1155/2012/270824
Sedative and Hypnotic Activities of the Methanolic and Aqueous Extracts of Lavandula officinalis from Morocco
1Laboratory of Genetic Immunology and Biochemistry, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Mohammed V Agdal University, BP 6203, Rabat Instituts, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco
2Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Drugs Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed V Souissi University, ERTP, BP 6203, Rabat Instituts, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco
3National Laboratory of Drugs Controlled, BP 6203, Rabat Instituts, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco
Received 4 August 2011; Revised 16 September 2011; Accepted 1 October 2011
Academic Editor: Elaine Cristina Gavioli
Copyright © 2012 Rachad Alnamer et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
We evaluate the sedative and hypnotic activities of the methanolic and aqueous extract of Lavandula officinalis L. on central nervous system (CNS). In this study, the effect of the methanolic and aqueous extracts of this plant was investigated in a battery of behavioural models in mice. Stems and flowers of Lavandula officinalis L. have several therapeutic applications in folk medicine in curing or managing a wide range of diseases, including insomnia. The methanolic extract produced significant sedative effect at the doses of 200, 400, and 600 mg/kg (by oral route), compared to reference substance diazepam (DZP), and an hypnotic effect at the doses of 800 and 1000 mg/kg while the treatment of mice with the aqueous extract at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg via oral pathway significantly reduced in both the reestablishment time and number of head dips during the traction and hole-board tests. In conclusion, these results suggest that the methanolic and aqueous extracts of Lavandula officinalis possess potent sedative and hypnotic activities, which supported its therapeutic use for insomnia.