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1: Phytother Res. 2002 May;16(3):223-6.Click here to read Links

Anxiogenic properties of Ptychopetalum olacoides Benth. (Marapuama).

da Silva AL, Bardini S, Nunes DS, Elisabetsky E.

Curso de Pós Graduação em Ciências Biológicas-Bioquímica, Universidade Federaldo Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.

Alcohol infusions of roots of Ptychopetalum olacoides Benth. (PO), known as Marapuama or Muirapuama, are used in the Brazilian Amazon as a 'nerve tonic'. Over the years PO has been found increasingly in phytoformulations and regarded as a stimulant, claimed to enhance physical and mental performances. This study determined that a P. olacoides ethanol extract (30, 100 and 300 mg/kg) decreased exploratory behaviour in the hole-board test, without interfering with locomotion or motor coordination (rota-rod test). The data are comparable to that obtained with pentylenetetrazol (40 mg/kg), suggesting an anxiogenic effect of P. olacoides.

PMID: 12164265 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]