Millettia thonningii
,
Ocinum sanctum
and
Securitaca longepedunculaca
are used in traditional medicine
in Cameroon to treat epilepsy, insomnia and headaches. Animal models of epilepsy (maximal electroshock
(MES), n-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA), pentylenetetrazol (PTZ), isonicotinic hydrazide acid (INH), picrotoxine (PIC)
and strychnine (STR)-induced convulsions or turning behavior were used to evaluate anticonvulsant activity while
diazepam-induced sleep test was used to evaluate sedative activity of the plants. Four doses of extracts were
used for each plant (100, 200, 500 and 1000 mg/kg). At a dose of 1000 mg/kg, Millettia thonningii protected 60
and 90% of mice against MES and PTZ-induced convulsions, respectively. At the same dose,
Millettia thonningii
also protected 80% of mice against NMDA-induced turning behavior. At a dose of 1000 mg/kg,
Ocinum sanctum
provided complete protection against MES, PIC and STR- induced convulsions and 83.3% of protection in PTZ
test.
Securitaca longepedunculata completely protected (100%) mice in PIC test at a dose of 200 mg/kg, in MES
test at a dose of 500 mg/kg and in PTZ test at a dose of 1000 mg/kg. 66.7% of mice were protected against STRinduced
convulsions. All the three plants showed also sedative properties for they increased significantly and in a
dose dependent manner the total sleep time induced by diazepam. The total sleep time of the control groups was
multiplied by a factor of 3 at least by each extract. The presence of sedative and anticonvulsant activity in the
three plants could explain their use in traditional medicine in the treatment of epilepsy and insomnia in Cameroon.
