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Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Health Sciences Institute, Paulista University, Brazil.
Catnip or catmint (Nepeta cataria) is a plant used extensively to treat human diseases and in toys for pets. We investigated the effects of acute and long-term administration of the plant on some behaviors of mice. The plant was fed as 10% of the normal diet for 2 h/d for 1 or 7 d. Acute and long-term dosing increased both rearing and locomotion frequencies observed in an open field. Acute exposure to catnip increased stereotyped behavior and susceptibility to seizures, did not interfere with haloperidol-induced catalepsy, and decreased sleeping time after sodium pentobarbital administration. Long-term exposure induced tolerance to stereotypic behavior, catalepsy and sleeping time, and increased the susceptibility to seizures induced by picrotoxin and strychnine. An amphetamine-like effect of catnip was suggested to explain the acute effects, while dispositional and functional adaptative changes were considered involved with the long-term effects.
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