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Protective effect of BR‐16A, a polyherbal preparation against social isolation stress: possible GABAergic mechanism
Author(s) -
Kumar Anil,
Kulkarni S. K.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
phytotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1573
pISSN - 0951-418X
DOI - 10.1002/ptr.1873
Subject(s) - diazepam , pharmacology , gabaergic , benzodiazepine , agonist , inverse agonist , flumazenil , antagonist , medicine , chemistry , anesthesia , receptor
Abstract The antistress effects of BR‐16A, a polyherbal preparation and its interaction with GABAergic modulators against social isolation‐induced stress were investigated in the present study. Isolation stress was induced by keeping the mice (Laca strain) individually in each cage for 3 weeks and various drug treatments were given for a period of 5 days before the start of the experiments. The various behavioural parameters examined included pentobarbitone‐induced sleep (sleep latency and duration), analgesia (tail‐ßick test) and locomotor activity, respectively. BR‐16A (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) treatment for 5 days significantly reversed the social isolation stress‐induced prolongation of onset and decrease in pentobarbitone‐induced sleep, increased total motor activity and stress‐induced antinociception. When diazepam (0.5 mg/kg), a benzodiazepine agonist, was co‐administered with BR‐16A (100 mg/kg), it significantly potentiated the reversal of pentobarbitone‐induced shortening of sleep time effects; increased locomotor activity and stress induced antinociceptive effects. However, the sleep latency was not decreased significantly. Further, ßumazenil (2 mg/kg), a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist and FG 7142 (10 mg/kg), an inverse agonist, when co‐administered with BR‐16A (100 mg/kg), showed no significant reversal on pentobarbitone‐induced hypnosis, locomotor activity and social isolation‐induced antinociception compared with their effects per se . The present study demonstrated the antistress effects of BR‐16A preparation against social isolation‐induced stress. The present study also suggests that the GABAergic system may be involved in its antistress effect. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.