Evaluation of Phytochemical Constituents and Sedative Activity of Passiflora Edulis Sims Extracts

Abstract

Passiflora edulis Sims, Passifloraceae is widely grown in Lam Dong, Vietnam for its fruit as a beverage. This study is an attempt to explore the phytochemical constituents using the chemical reagents and evaluate the sedative, anti anxiety activity of ethanol and water extract of leaves and rhizomes using the elevated plus-maze model and dark light box test in mice. The phytochemical screening results showed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, phenolic compounds, flavonoids in leaves and rhizomes of Passiflora edulis, and the leaf have more alkaloids and flavonoids than the rhizomes. Moreover, treatment with the leaf extract significantly (p<0.001) demonstrated sedative, anti-anxiety activity as compared to vehicle control, in which the activity of ethanol extracts was significantly (p<0.001) better than water extracts. In addition, at dosage of 300mg/kg the leaf ethanol extracts showed significantly (p<0.001) lower than diazepam 2mg/kg. These finding are an important factor in evaluating the pharmacological effects and orienting the process of preparing sedative tea products using Passiflora edulis leaf grown in Lam Dong, Vietnam in the future. KeywORDs: anti-anxiety, phytochemical, elevated plus-maze, dark light box, sedative Passiflora edulis Sims