Ethnopharmacology of Q’eqchi’ Maya antiepileptic and anxiolytic plants: Effects on the GABAergic system
Autor: | Victor Cal, Fida Ahmed, Andrew Tang, Natalie Bourbonnais-Spear, Pablo Sanchez Vindas, Luis Poveda, Pedro Maquin, John T. Arnason, Chieu Anh Ta, Martha Mullally, Vance L. Trudeau, Rosalie Awad, Zul Merali, Francisco Caal |
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Rok vydání: | 2009 |
Předmět: |
medicine.drug_class
medicine.medical_treatment Anxiety Pharmacology Anxiolytic Magnoliopsida Epilepsy Drug Discovery medicine Humans Mode of action Plants Medicinal Plant Extracts GABAA receptor business.industry Biological activity Receptors GABA-A medicine.disease Belize Indians Central American Anticonvulsant Anti-Anxiety Agents Mechanism of action 4-Aminobutyrate Transaminase Ethnopharmacology Anticonvulsants Susto Medicine Traditional medicine.symptom business Tannins Phytotherapy |
Zdroj: | Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 125:257-264 |
ISSN: | 0378-8741 |
Popis: | Ethnopharmacological relevance The Q’eqchi’ Maya possess a large selection of plants to treat neurological disorders, including epilepsy and susto (fright), a culture-bound illness related to anxiety disorders. Aim of the study To investigate the activity of antiepileptic and anxiolytic plants in the GABAergic system, and determine if there is a pharmacological basis for plant selection. Materials and methods Ethanol extracts of 34 plants were tested in vitro for their ability to inhibit GABA-transaminase (GABA-T) or bind to the GABAA-benzodiazepine (BZD) receptor, two principal drug targets in epilepsy and anxiety. Pharmacological activity was correlated with relative frequency of use, based on informant consensus. Results Ten plants showed greater than 50% GABA-T inhibition at 1 mg/ml, while 23 showed greater than 50% binding to the GABAA-BZD receptor at 250 μg/ml. Piperaceae, Adiantaceae and Acanthaceae families were highly represented and active in both assays. There was a significant positive correlation between GABA-T inhibition and relative frequency of use for epilepsy, and an even stronger correlation between GABAA binding and relative frequency of use for susto (fright). Conclusions Clearly, Q’eqchi’ traditional knowledge of antiepileptic and anxiolytic plants is associated with the use of pharmacologically active plants. Based on the evidence, it is suggested that the mechanism of action for some traditionally used plants may be mediated through the GABAergic system. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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