Although agarwood has been used as a tranquilizer in Asian countries for hundreds of years, the underlying pharmacological basis is still unclear. This study investigated the sedative-hypnotic effect of agarwood essential oil (AEO) using locomotor activity and pentobarbital-induced sleeping assays in mice. Single (1-day) and multiple (7- and 14-days) administrations of 60 mg/kg AEO generated si...

background: coriandrum sativum l. has been recommended for relief of insomnia in iranian traditional medicine. however, no pharmacological studies have yet evaluated its sedative effects. the aim of this study was to determine if extracts and essential oil of coriander seeds have sedative-hypnotic activity.   methods: the aqueous or hydro-alcoholic extracts or essential oil of coriander seeds (...

AIM OF THE STUDY Many medicinal plants have been used for treatment of insomnia in Asia. However, scientific evidence and precise mechanism for their sedative-hypnotic activity have not been fully investigated. Thus, we investigated the binding activity of the oriental plant extracts (mainly from Korea and Japan) to the well-known molecular targets for sleep regulation, GABA(A) and 5-HT(2C) rec...

In Iranian traditional medicine, plants belonging to Inula genus have been used for the treatment of seizure. We decided to investigate the anticonvulsant activity of seven species from this genus to find an effective remedy for seizure with less adverse effects compared to available medicines. Aqueous and methanolic extracts of Inula britannica, Inula helenium, Inula viscidula, Inula oculus-ch...

In Iranian traditional medicine, plants belonging to Inula genus have been used for the treatment of seizure. We decided to investigate the anticonvulsant activity of seven species from this genus to find an effective remedy for seizure with less adverse effects compared to available medicines. Aqueous and methanolic extracts of Inula britannica, Inula helenium, Inula viscidula, Inula oculus-ch...

To study the influence of the central noradrenergic system on sensitivity to sedative-hypnotic effects mediated by the aminobutyric acid (GABA) system, intact rats were contrasted with rats in which noradrenergic nerves were largely destroyed shortly after birth with the neurotoxin DSP-4 [N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine; 50 mg/kg sc x2, P1 and P3]. At 10 weeks, loss of the righting...

The purpose of this updating manuscript is to briefly describe the profile, clinical use and indication of some of the most used sedative and hypnotic compounds. About 2/3 of all hypnotic prescriptions go to chronic use. Benzodiazepines are among the most prescribed drugs worldwide. Women, elderly, psychiatric and medical disease patients are among chronic users of hypnotics. Zolpidem is now th...

Barbiturates were formerly the primary sedative-hypnotic agents used clinically. Currently, they are most often encountered as anticonvulsants, induction agents for anesthesia, and agents used for procedural sedation. Because the barbiturates have largely been replaced clinically by benzodiazepines due to safety concerns, their prevalence in overdoses has drastically decreased when compared wit...

Placebo response shares phenomenology and likely overlaps with substrates of cognition and personality. However, inconsistent findings abound regarding the potential link between suggestibility and responding to placebos. Here we directly probe whether suggestibility of the hypnotic type influences placebo response. Fifty healthy undergraduates underwent a standard measure of hypnotic suggestib...