Anti-seizure activity of the aqueous leaf extract of Solanum nigrum linn (solanaceae) in experimental animals.

BACKGROUND Solanum nigrum is claimed in traditional medical practice, to be useful in the treatment of epilepsy in some parts of Nigeria. OBJECTIVES To study the anti-convulsant property of the aqueous extract of the leaves of S. nigrum in chicks, mice and rats. METHOD Aqueous extracts were administered intraperitoneally, at a pre-treatment time of 30 minutes, at graded doses and animals were challenged with different types of proconvulsants. RESULTS The aqueous leaf extract produced a significantly (P<0.05) dose dependent protection against electrically-induced seizure in chicks and rats, pentylenetetrazole-induced seizure in mice and rats and picrotoxin-induced seizure in mice and rats. The anti-seizure property of the extract was potentiated by amphetamine. CONCLUSION The result obtained in this study suggests that the leaves of this plant may possess anti-convulsant property in chicks, mice and rats.