ABSTRACT:
Central nervous system (CNS) disorders are of great concern in the present day world due to increasing stress and changing living conditions. Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder affecting an estimated 40-50 million people worldwide. So, the present study was carried out on mice to evaluate the anticonvulsant activity of boswellic acids (BA) isolated from oleo-gum resin of Boswellia serrata Roxb (Burseraceae). Three different doses of BA viz., 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg, were studied against the pentylenetetrazole induced (PTZ) convulsive mice and thiopental sodium induced sleeping time in mice. Diazepam (DZ) was used as reference standard in PTZ- induced convulsive mice and thiopental sodium induced sleeping time in mice. In the PTZ test, BA showed significant anticonvulsant activity by delay in latency of HLTE (p<0.001) in dose 200 mg/kg. Moreover, BA showed significantly prolonged the duration of sleeping (p<0.001) in thiopental sodium-induced sleeping time. From the present study, it is concluded that the BA possesses anticonvulsant activity against chemically induced convulsions in experimental animals, which supports the ethno medicinal claim of the plant in the management of epilepsy.