Nootropic potential of Bauhinia variegata: A systematic study on murine model

Objectives: Bauhinia variegata Linn (leguminosae) is one of the important medicinal herbs used traditionally to treat fever, as tonic, astringent, diarrhea, dysentery, hemorrhoids, piles, edema. Recent findings on Bauhinia variegata Linn have demonstrated its antioxidant, anti-hyperlipidemic, and hepatoprotective potential. The present work is focused to evaluate nootropic potential of Bauhinia variegata Linn in rats. Materials and Methods: The leaves of Bauhinia variegata were collected in the month of January from Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwavidyalaya Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh). Leaves were subjected for isolation of crude flavonoids and characterized by total flavonoid content assay. Flavonoid-rich extract of Bauhinia variegata was studied for acute oral toxicity as per revised Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development guidelines No. 423. Nootropic activity was determined by elevated plus maze, rotating rod apparatus, baclofen-induced catatonia, diazepam-induced amnesia. Results: Flavonoid-rich fraction of Bauhinia variegata caused no alteration in locomotion in animals. In the current study, animals treated with flavonoid-rich fraction of Bauhinia variegata (400 mg/kg) showed a significant decrease in transfer latency as compared to the control group, which indicates cognitive enhancement effect flavonoid-rich fraction of Bauhinia variegata. In rota rod studies, flavonoid-rich fraction of Bauhinia variegata increased fall of time as compared to diazepam. In baclofen-induced catatonia, administration of flavonoid-rich fraction of Bauhinia variegata demonstrated protective effect on rats. Over all, flavonoid-rich fraction of Bauhinia variegata was found to enhance the performance of murine models. Conclusion: Thus, it could be concluded that flavonoids from Bauhinia variegata possess nootropic potential. However, more systematic studies are required to determine its exact mechanism of action