Methanol Leaf Extract of Diospyros mespiliformis Hochst. offers Protection against Some Chemoconvulsants

Abstract

Diospyros mespiliformis Hochst (Ebenaceae) is reported to have wide ethnomedical application notably in the management of fever, whooping cough, wounds, pneumonia, syphilis, leprosy and epilepsy among others. This study examined the anticonvulsant activity of its methanol leaf extract at the doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg in pentylenetetrazole, maximal electroshock, strychnine, picrotoxin and 4-aminopyridine induced seizure tests. The intraperitoneal and oral median lethal doses of the extract were estimated in mice, rats and chicks. The extract at doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg protected the mice (50%, 66.67% and 66.67%, respectively) against pentylenetetrazole induced seizures. The extract at all doses tested did not offer protection against maximal electroshock and 4-amino pyridine induced seizures. The extract significantly prolonged the onset of seizure induced by strychnine. The extract protected 83.3% of the mice against picrotoxininduced seizure at the highest dose tested (200 mg/kg) and significantly (P < 0.05) increased the onset of seizure in the unprotected animals at the lower doses (50 and 100 mg/kg). The median lethal dose (LD50) values of D. mespiliformis methanol leaf extract was found to be 774.6 mg/kg i.p. and greater than 5000 mg/kg p.o. in both rats and mice. In chick, the LD50 was found to be >5000 mg/kg, intraperitoneally. These results suggest that D. mespiliformis leaf extract possesses anticonvulsant activity and provide some scientific justification for the ethnomedicinal use of the leaves of the plant in the management of epilepsy.