EC Pharmacology And Toxicology

In Sri Lanka, Desmodium triflorum Linn (Fabaceae) is a well-known medicinal plant known by the Sinhala name "Heen-Undupiyaliya”. In this work, Swiss albino mice were used to determine the central nervous system effects of the methanolic extract of Desmodium triflorum. The methanolic extract of Desmodium triflorum was used to assess the CNS activity using the force swimming, tail suspension, and thiopental sodium induced sleeping time tests. Five groups of five mice each were created out of the animals. In CNS activity testing, conventional medications such as thiopental sodium (40 mg/kg) and imipramine hydrochloride (30 mg/kg) were utilized. The plant extract was dissolved in deionized water at concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg body weight to create the sample. Thirty minutes before to the experiment, the test groups were given the medication orally, whereas the control group was given 0.1 mL/mouse of deionized water by gavage. The experimental mice were given the medicines intraperitoneally (i.p.) fifteen minutes after the treatments were administered. In the forced swimming and tail suspension tests, the extract significantly reduced the amount of time that subjects were immobile. Furthermore, a significant reduction in the duration of sleep and an increase in latency time were seen with the crude extract (*p < 0.05). The findings imply that Desmodium triflorum methanolic extract may have a CNS stimulating effect that warrants investigation for possible therapeutic use as a substitute therapy for ailments. Therefore, the current study supported the use of the plant in the treatment of depression; nevertheless, more research on the phytochemicals in the plant is required to prove its central nervous system effects.

 Keywords: Desmodium triflorum; Forced Swimming; Tail Suspension

1. Ata A., et al. “Evaluation of CNS stimulant potential of Delonix regia leaf extracts”. International Journal of Advance Research and Innovative Ideas in Education 5 (2020): 2395-4396.
2. Mangini L. “CNS stimulants: Few interactions, significant repercussions” (2017).
3. Rey JA. “CNS stimulants”. In: Lippincott Illustrated Reviews: Pharmacology. 6^th edition, Wolters Kluwer, Philadelphia (2015): 215-224.
4. Huffman JC and Stern TA. “Using psychostimulants to treat depression in the medically ill”. Primary Care Companion to The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry1 (2004): 44-46.
5. Parrott AC., et al. “Recreational stimulants, herbal, and spice cannabis: The core psychobiological processes that underlie their damaging effects”. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental3 (2017): 2594- 2603.v
6. Mestry M., et al. “Herbal CNS stimulants”. International Journal of Herbal Medicine6 (2016): 109-116.
7. Joy PP., et al. “Medicinal plants tropical horticulture”. Calcutta: Naya Prokashan (2001): 2.
8. Ilandara R., et al. “Phytochemical and ethnopharmacological properties of Desmodium triflorum: A Review”. Pharmaceutical Journal of Sri Lanka1 (2015): 34-38.
9. Ayurvedic medicinal plants of Sri Lanka compendium. Ayurvedic medicinal plants (2021).
10. Medicinal Plants of India. Karnataka (1996): 1.
11. Adinarayana D and Syamsundar KV. “Occurrence of a rare diholosylflavone, 2-O-glucosylvitexin in Desmodium triflorum Three-flowered beggarweed of India”. Current Science 51 (1982): 936-937.
12. Ghosal RS., et al. “Alkaloids of Desmodium triflorum”. Phytochemistry 12 (1971): 3313-3314.
13. Khare CP. “Indian Medicinal Plant”. New York (2007).
14. Rout SK and Kar DM. “A review on antiepileptic agents, current research and future prospectus on conventional and traditional drugs”. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research 2 (2010): 19-23.
15. Prusti AB and Behera KK. “Ethno-medico botanical study of Sundargarh district, Orissa, India”. Ethnobotanical Leaflets 11 (2007): 148-163.
16. Tabuti JR., et al. “Traditional herbal drugs of Bulamogi, Uganda Plants, use and administration”. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 1 (2003): 19-44.
17. Samvatsar S. “Plant used in treatment of different types of fever by Bhils and subtribes in India”. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge1 (2004): 96-100.
18. Desmodium triflorum (L.) DC-Fabaceae - Dicotyledon.
19. Kawshik KC., et al. “Analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of Desmodium triflorum DC”. Journal of Biological Sciences 5 (2005): 581-583.
20. Mao SC., et al. “Studies on antioxidation activity of three plants of Desmodium”. Yunnan Daxue Xue Bao 29 (2007): 393-397.
21. Lai SC., et al. “Antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of Desmodium triflorum (L.) DC”. American Journal of Chinese Medicine 2 (2010): 329-342.
22. Daya RW., et al. “Antinociceptive activity of cold extract of Desmodium triflorum in rats”. International Research Journal of Pharmacy 7 (2011): 120-123.
23. Tsai JC., et al. “Antioxidant activities of phenolic components from various plants of Desmodium species”. African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 4 (2011): 468-476.
24. Gowda G., et al. “Evaluation of anticonvulsant activity of ethanolic leaves extract of Desmodium triflorum in mice”. Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia 3 (2012): 649-656.
25. Seth UK., et al. “Selected Topics in Experimental Pharmacology, 1^st Edition”. Kothari Book Depot, Bombay, India (1972): 126.
26. Ghani A. “Medicinal Plants of Bangladesh with Chemical Constituents and Uses”. 2^nd The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka (2003): 331-332.
27. Porsolt RD., et al. “Behavioural despair in mice: a primary screening test for antidepressants”. Archives Internationales de Pharmacodynamie et de Therapie 2 (1977): 327-336.
28. Wesołowska A., et al. “Effect of `the selective 5-HT7 receptor antagonist SB 269970 in animal models of anxiety and depression”. Neuropharmacology3 (2006): 578-586.
29. Nanjappa K., et al. “Pharmacological and neurobiochemical evidence for antidepressant-like effect of Sumind, A herbal product in animals”. International Journal of Nutrition 1 (2006).
30. Steru L., et al. “The tail suspension test: a new method for screening antidepressants in mice”. Psychopharmacology3 (1985): 367-370.
31. Ferrini R., et al. “Neuropharmacological studies on SB 5833, a new psychotherapeutic agent of the benzodiazepine class”. Arzneimittel Forschung - Drug Research 12 (1974): 2029-2032.
32. Waller DG and Sampson AP. “Neurotransmission and the peripheral autonomic nervous system”. Medical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (2018): 73-90.
33. Katzung BG. “Farmakologi Dasar dan Klinik”. Edisi 2. Bagian Farmakologi Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Airlangga, editor. Jakarta: Penerbit Salemba Medika (2002).
34. Franke AG., et al. “Methylphenidate, modafinil, and caffeine for cognitive enhancement in chess: A double-blind, randomised controlled trial”. European Neuropsychopharmacology 3 (2017): 248-260.
35. Lokesh Brind., et al. “Evaluation of central nervous system stimulating and analgesic activities of Murraya koenigii leaves”. Journal of Acute Medicine2 (2014): 81-85.
36. Rénéric JP and Lucki I. “Antidepressant behavioral effects by dual inhibition of monoamine reuptake in the rat forced swimming test”. Psychopharmacology (Berl)2 (1998): 190-197.
37. Sapolsky RM. “The possibility of neurotoxicity in the hippocampus in major depression: A primer on neuron death”. Biological Psychiatry 8 (2000): 755-765.
38. Rajkowska G., et al. “Morphometric evidence for neuronal and glial prefrontal cell pathology in major depression”. Biological Psychiatry9 (1999): 1085-1098.
39. Fernandez-Galinski S., et al. “Comparative assessment of the effects of alfentanil, esmolol or clonidine when used as adjuvants during induction of general anaesthesia”. European Journal of Anaesthesiology6 (2004): 476-482.
40. Kalueff AV and Nutt DJ. “Role of GABA in anxiety and depression”. Depression and Anxiety7 (2007): 495-517.
41. Schür RR., et al. “Brain GABA levels across psychiatric disorders: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis of (1) H-MRS studies”. Human Brain Mapping9 (2016): 3337-3352.
42. Borsini F., et al. “Discovery of antidepressant activity by forced swimming test may depend on pre-exposure of rats to a stressful situation”. Psychopharmacology 2 (1989): 183-188.
43. Singh N., et al. “Pharmacognostic and phytochemical screening of Desmodium triflorum Linn”. International Journal of Pharmacognosy1 (2016): 43-49.
44. Sharma R., et al. “Efficacy of aqueous and methanolic extracts of plant Desmodium triflorum for potential antibacterial activity”. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research 5 (2013): 1975.
45. Aggarwal A., et al. “Premature ejaculation - dose and duration dependent effect of fluoxetine: A histological study on seminal vesicle of albino rats”. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research 9 (2014): AC14-AC16.
46. Waldinger MD and Olivier B. “Utility of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in premature ejaculation”. Current Opinion in Investigational Drugs 7 (2004): 743-747.
47. Robinson DS., et al. “Serotonergic anxiolytics and treatment of depression”. Psychopathology1 (1989): 27-36.