Evaluation of anticonvulsant activity of methanol leaf extract of Opilia celtidifolia diels (opiliaceae) in mice and chicks

Abstract

Epilepsy affects 1% of the global population, with around 2.4 million new diagnoses annually. Approximately 80% of individuals with epilepsy reside in low- and middle-income countries, with a prevalence of 8.2 per 1000 in sub-Saharan Africa and 8 per 1000 in Nigeria. This study evaluated the anticonvulsant properties of methanol leaf extract of Opilia celtidifolia (MEC) in mice and chicks.

The median lethal dose (LD₅₀) of the extract was determined in mice and chicks. The acute anticonvulsant properties of MEC were evaluated using pentylene tetrazole (PTZ), maximal electroshock (MES), strychnine, and picrotoxin-induced convulsions, while the chronic anticonvulsant effect was assessed through PTZ-induced kindling. The effects of MEC on cognition, coordination, motor deficits, sedation, and locomotion were assessed using the Y Maze, Beam Walking, and Open Field tests.

The extract increased the mean percentage of survival and significantly delayed the mean onset of PTZ-induced seizure (p<0.05), strychnine-induced seizure (p<0.01), and picrotoxin-induced seizures (p<0.05) at a dose of 1000 mg/kg. However, the extract did not provide protection against MES-induced seizures. In the kindling model, the extract-treated mice exhibited a decrease in the seizure threshold, with an associated increase in oxidative stress. The extract treated mice showed significant (p<0.05) decrease in locomotor activity with apparent sedative effect but there was no obvious cognitive impairment in learning and memory, coordination or motor deficits.

MEC is apparently non-toxic and possesses anticonvulsant activity against some animal models of epilepsy. It also exhibited decreased locomotor activity with apparent sedative effect in mice.