Traditionally, Lactuca sativa (lettuce) has been recommended for its hypnotic property.The present study was planned to investigate sleep-prolonging effect of this plant. The hydroalcoholicextract (HAE) of lettuce and its water fraction (WF), ethyl acetate fraction (EAF),and n-butanol fraction (NBF) were administrated (IP) to mice 30 min before the pentobarbitalinjection. Moreover, both in-vivo...

Yahom Tultavai is a Thai traditional medicine that has been widely used for the treatment of nausea, vomiting, dizziness and weakness in aged-people, especially. Its formula contains several medicinal plants, and one of them is Kaempferia galanga L., which has ethyl-p-methoxycinnamate (EPMC) as its major compound. Recently, several herbs and traditional medicines have been reported to demonstra...

Angelicae Gigantis Radix (AGR, Angelica gigas) has been used for a long time as a traditional folk medicine in Korea and oriental countries. Decursinol angelate (DCA) is structurally isomeric decursin, one of the major components of AGR. This study was performed to confirm whether DCA augments pentobarbital-induced sleeping behaviors via the activation of GABAA-ergic systems in animals. Oral ad...

BACKGROUND An overdose of pentobarbital sodium administered i.v. is the most commonly used method of euthanasia in veterinary medicine. Determining death after the infusion relies on the observation of physical variables. However, it is unknown when cortical electrical activity and brainstem function are lost in a sequence of events before death. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES To examine changes in th...

OBJECTIVE Sleeplessness is the most common sleep disorder. In this study the hypnotic effect of the hydro-alcoholic extract (HAE) of Perovskia abrotanoides Karel. and its water fraction (WF), ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) and n-butanol fraction (NBF) were studied in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS The test compounds were administered intraperitoneally to mice 30 min before the administration of so...

The GABA type A receptor (GABAA-R) is a major target of intravenous anesthetics. Phospholipase C-related inactive protein type-1 (PRIP-1) is important in GABAA-R phosphorylation and membrane trafficking. In this study, we investigated the role of PRIP-1 in general anesthetic action. The anesthetic effects of propofol, etomidate, and pentobarbital were evaluated in wild-type and PRIP-1 knockout ...

Hemorrhagic shock results from massive blood loss, leading to hypotension, ischemia, heart failure and multiorgan dysfunction. The analysis of cardiac function in vivo is complex and even more challenging during hemorrhagic shock, especially in small animals. Cardiac function measurements require animals to be under anesthesia. Sodium pentobarbital is a common general anesthetic used for cardio...

gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA)-gated Cl- influx was studied in rat brain "microsacs." Midazolam caused a shift to the left of the GABA log dose-response curve. Pentobarbital produced a similar shift plus an increase in maximum response. Diazepam, flurazepam and desalkylflurazepam also enhanced GABA-gated Cl- flux. Their effects were blocked by Ro15-1788, a benzodiazepine antagonist. Acute diaze...

Aminorex is a cyclic phenylisopropylamine that has been marketed as an anorectic. Despite obvious pharmacological similarities to the amphetamines, little is known about its liability for abuse. In the present study, one group of rhesus monkeys (n = 3) was prepared with intravenous catheters and allowed to self-administer either methohexital or saline in daily experimental sessions. When methoh...