Effect of hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of Colocasia esculenta on marble-burying behavior in mice: Implications for obsessive–compulsive disorder

Abstract

Context: Over the past decades, the inhibition of spontaneous burying of glass marbles by mice has been used as an index of anxiolytic drug action in the so-called marble-burying test. Although Colocasia esculenta Linn. (Araceae), commonly known as elephant ear (English), possesses several medicinal properties, little is known for its use in neurological activity.

Objective: The current research evaluated the anti-obsessive–compulsive disorder (anti-compulsive) activity of the hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of Colocasia esculenta (HECE) for the first time using the marble-burying behavior test in mice.

Materials and methods: In the present study, the effect of HECE (25 and 50 mg/kg) intraperitoneally (i.p.) was examined using the marble-burying behavior test, which is an animal model of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), using Swiss albino mice.

Results and discussion: The acute toxicity studies showed that the LD₅₀ value of the HECE in mice was 1000 mg/kg by i.p. route. The effect of HECE (25 and 50 mg/kg, i.p.) was characterized by significant reduction in the number of buried marbles as compared with the control group (p < 0.001). The effect of HECE was comparable with that of fluoxetine (5 mg/kg, i.p.) – a reference standard drug used in the treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorder (p < 0.001). Fluoxetine and HECE do not produce any overt motor dysfunction.

Conclusions: The results of the study for the first time show that the plant possesses anti-compulsive activity, confirming the traditional claims. Future research should focus on the identification and the anti-compulsive activity of the constituents from this plant.

• Fluoxetine
• marble-burying behavior
• preliminary phytochemical screening

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Head, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Saurashtra University, Rajkot, Gujarat, India, for providing the facilities during the course of this study. Special thanks to Professor P. J. Parmar, Botanical Survey of India, for identification and authentication of the plant. A gift sample of fluoxetine by Torrent, Ahmedabad, India, is gratefully acknowledged.

Declaration of interest

The authors report that they have no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.