Anti-convulsant Activity of Roots and Barks of Calotropis gigantea Linn.

Objective: Calotropis gigantea Linn. (Asclepiadaceae) a widely growing plant has been traditionally used for all kinds of fits, epilepsy, convulsions in children and paralysis complaints. The present study has been undertaken to evaluate scientifically the anti-convulsant effects of ischolar_mains and barks of Calotropis gigantea Linn. using maximal electroshock seizures (MES) and Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced seizure models. Methods: The effect of different extracts of ischolar_mains and barks of Calotropis gigantea Linn. were evaluated for their anti-convulsant profile in MES test and PTZ test using albino Wistar rats of either sex. The ED₅₀ dose of Phenytoin (25 mg/kg) and Diazepam (4 mg/ kg) was used for comparison. Results: The methanolic extract at 400 mg/kg (Root) and 200 mg/kg (Bark) significantly (P<0.001) inhibited the hind limb tonic extension (HLTE) induced by MES and onset of clonic convulsion induced by PTZ respectively. Conclusions: The results show that the methanolic extract of the ischolar_mains and barks of Calotropis gigantea Linn. produce better anti-convulsant activity compared to other extracts. So, on the basis of the present findings it can be observed that, the methanolic extracts of barks of C. gigantea possess potential anti-convulsant activity than methanolic extracts of ischolar_mains of C. gigantea.