DEPRESSANT, ANTICONVULSANT AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES OF HIPPOCRATEA AFRICANA
Hippocratea africana (Willd.) Loes.ex Engl. (Celastraceae) is used locally to treat convulsion and microbial infections. The root extract of Hippocratea africana was evaluated for depressant effect and antimicrobial activity.Depressant activity was evaluated using open field, force swimming, tail suspension tests and phenobarbitone-induced sleeping time. Anticonvulsant activity was testedagainst pentylenetetrazol and aminophylline-induced convulsions. The root extract/fractions were screened for antimicrobial activity against some typed and pure cultures of bacterial and fungal species using Plate -hole diffusion methodon Mueller – Hinton agar (MHA) for bacteria and Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) for the fungi. Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) of active test samples were determined. The root extract decreased significantly (p<0.01) the line crossing, walling and rearing activities in open field test and increased (p<0.001) the immobility time in force swimming and tail suspension tests. The root extract significantly (p<0.0 01) shortened the onset time of sleep and prolonged the duration of sleep induced by phenobarbitone sodium. The root extract and fractions (200 – 600 mg/kg) were found to delay significantly (p<0.05 – 0.001) the onset of tonic/clonic convulsion and prolonged the time of death of the treated mice in PTZ- and aminophylline induced convulsions. The crude extract, chloroform and aqueous fractions were active against Staph aureus, and B. subtilis. P. aeruginosa was sensitive to aqueous fraction only. The extract and fractions were inactive against any fungal isolate. The root extract of H. africana has depressant, anticonvulsant, sedating and antibacterial activities