Purpose: Indigofera tinctoria
Linn. of the Fabaceae family is claimed to be useful in the treatment of a
variety of epileptic disorders in Indian traditional system of medicine. The present study was designed to
verify this claim.
Methods: Status epilepticus was induced in male albino rats of Wistar strain by administration of
pilocarpine (30 mg/kg, i.p.) 24 h after injection of lithium chloride (3 mEq/kg, i.p.). Different doses of the
ethanol extract of
Indigofera tinctoria were administered orally 1 h before the injection of pilocarpine.
The severity of status epilepticus was observed and recorded every 15 min for 90 min and thereafter
every 30 min for another 90 min, using Racine scoring system. In-vivo lipid peroxidation of rat brain
tissue was measured in terms of the thiobarbiturate-reactive substances (TBARS). Both in-vitro free
radical nitric oxide (NO) and 2-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activities of the extract
were also determined.
Results: The severity of status epilepticus was significantly (p < 0.01) reduced following oral
administration of the extract at 500 and 1000 mg/kg doses. No test animal group exhibited stage 4
seizure. The extract also exhibited both in-vivo and in-vitro antioxidant activities.
Conclusion: The ethanol extract of
Indigofera tinctoria was found to be useful in controlling
lithium/pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus in albino rats.
