Evaluation of anti-compulsive effect of methanolic extract of Benincasa hispida Cogn. fruit in mice.

Benincasa hispida Cogn. (Cucurbitaceae) commonly known as wax gourd (1) is an important ingredient of kushmanda lehyam, an Ayurvedic medicine widely used as rejuvenative agent (Rasayana) in treatment of epilepsy and other nervous disorders (2). In Ayurvedic system of medicine, Benincasa hispida fruits are used for treatment of schizophrenia and other psychologic disorders (3). Methanolic extract of Benincasa hispida fruit has been demonstrated to possess nootropic, antidepressant and anxiolytic like effect (4, 5), which suggests that Benincasa hispida influences various neurotransmitter systems including serotonergic system. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by persistent thoughts (obsessions), which are ego-dystonic and associated with seemingly purposeful behaviors (compulsions) (6). Its co-morbidity with major depression is often evident, and it is considered as an anxiety disorder (7). Only potent serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are consistently effective in patients of obsessive-compulsive disorder (8), which indicates that serotonin dysfunction is the underlying cause in OCD. An outgrowing research has been done in pharmacotherapy of OCD but research into effective herbal treatments for OCD has just started. Those plants which are used to treat anxiety and depression can be a potential therapeutic strategy for treatment of OCD. Incidentally, Hypericum perforatum (St. Johnís Wort), which possesses anxiolytic and antidepressant effect, has been found effective in treatment of OCD (9). These evidences suggest that Benincasa hispida may be useful in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Therefore, the influence of methanolic extract of Benincasa hispida fruit was investigated on the marble-burying behavior of mice ñ a well-accepted model of obsessive-compulsive behavior, due to its high face and predictive validity (10). Further, the effect of methanolic extract of Benincasa hispida fruit was compared with the effect of fluoxetine ñ a standard anti-OCD agent. To understand the involvement of serotonergic system, the effect of methanolic extract of Benincasa hispida fruit was further studied in mice, pre-treated with either sub-effective dose of fluoxetine, or pchlorophenylalanine (PCPA) ñ a serotonin depleting agent.