International Journal of Phytopharmacology

Passiflora incarnata L. commonly known as passion flower belongs to Passifloraceae family and is one of the most popular and widely used medicinal plants in traditional medicine. The plant has a long history of application in herbal medicine as an anxiolytic and sedative-hypnotic. Extracts prepared from P. incarnata have been reported for their diverse ranges of pharmacological actions including antitussive, analgesic, anticonvulsant, anti-inflammatory, antiasthmatic and aphrodisiac activity. Documents related to antipsychotic actions were not found in a comprehensive literature survey. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effect of n-butanol extract of P. incarnata leaves (BEPI) and flowers (BEPIF) on experimentally induced psychosis using some psychopharmacological tests. Psychopharmacological profile of BEPI and BEPIF were studied using amphetamine induced stereotyped behavior, swimming induced grooming behavior and lithium induced head twitches. Significant differences between groups were determined by analysis of variance test followed by Dunnett's test. When BEPI and BEPIF was administered i.p. at 150, 300 and 600 mg/kg inhibited amphetamine induced stereotyped behavior, reduced swim induced grooming behavior and decreased number of head twitches induced by lithium sulphate dose dependently. The results of present investigation revealed antipsychotic/ neuroleptic potential of BEPI and BEPIF. The observed antipsychotic effect of BEPI and BEPIF in present study has been attributed to flavonoids. Furthermore, it may act synergistically or other minor constituents may also contribute to the observed activity.