Depressant and Anticonvulsant Effect of Methanol Extract of Swietenia Mahagoni in Mice

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the sleep potentiation (depressant) and anticonvulsant effect of methanol extract from bark of Swietenia mahagoni L. Jacq. (MESM) (Meliaceae) in Swiss male albino mice. The sleep potentiation effect of MESM (25 and 50 mg/kg, i. p.) significantly increased pentobarbitone (45 mg/kg, i. p.) induced sleeping time in a dose dependent manner. The anticonvulsant effect of MESM at the doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg, i. p. was examined against pentylenetetrazole (PTZ, 80 mg/kg, i. p.) and strychnine (STR, 2.5 mg/kg, i. p.) induced seizures and significantly delayed (p < 0.05) the onset and also antagonized these seizures in a dose dependent manner. Diazepam (2.0 mg/kg, i. p.) was used as reference drug