The Journal of Phytopharmacology, 2018;7(1):29-32 DOI:10.31254/phyto.2018.7107

Research Article

Sedative activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Euphorbia hirta

Dhanapal Venkatachalam¹ , Samuel Thavamani B¹ , Sampath Kumar²

Dhanapal Venkatachalam,Samuel Thavamani B,Sampath Kumar

1. Department of Pharmacognosy, Sanjo College of Pharmaceutical Studies, Velappara, Palakkad, Kerala – 678 702, India
2. Department of Pharmaceutics, Coimbatore Medical College, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 10th November, 2017 / Accepted: 28th December, 2017

Abstract

Insomnia is persistent difficulty in falling asleep that affects regular day time activities. It can induce significant psychological and physical disorder. Insomnia is treated pharmacologically and nonpharmacologically or by a combination of both. Relaxation, sleep restriction, stimulus control and sleep hygiene are known behavioural therapies for insomnia. Modern studies have shown that herbal drugs exert good sedative and hypnotic effect on the central nervous system. One such medicinal plants is Euphorbia hirta.. E. hirta belongs to the plant family Euphorbiaceae and genus Euphorbia. The leaf of Euphorbia hirta have several therapeutic applications in folk medicine in curing or managing wide range of diseases including insomnia. In the present study ethanol and aqueous extract of leaf Euphorbia ssssshirta was evaluated for sedative activity using phenobarbiton–induced sleep model in rat. Aqueous and ethanolic extracts (100mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) produced significant onset of sleep and duration of sleep (p