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Abstract
Lavandula stoechas L. (Lamiaceae) has been used for a long time in traditional medicine
as an anticonvulsant and antispasmodic. The aqueous-methanolic extract of L. stoechas
flowers (LS) was studied for its possible anticonvulsant and antispasmodic activities.
When tested in mice, LS (600 mg/kg) significantly reduced the severity and increased
the latency of convulsions induced by pentylene tetrazole (PTZ). LS likewise reduced
PTZ's lethality. LS up to a dose of 600 mg/kg was found devoid of any hypnotic effect
in mice, however, animals were found to be dull, calm and relaxed. The sedative effect
of the plant extract was confirmed, as it prolonged the pentobarbital sleeping time
in mice similar to that of diazepam. In isolated rabbit jejunum preparations, LS caused
a dose-dependent (0.1-1.0 mg/ml) relaxation of spontaneous contractions. LS also inhibited
K(+)-induced contractions in a similar dose range, thereby suggesting calcium channel
blockade. This effect was confirmed when pretreatment of the jejunum preparation with
LS produced a dose-dependent shift of the Ca(2+) dose-response curve to the right,
similar to the effect of verapamil, a standard calcium channel blocker. These data
indicate that the plant extract exhibits anticonvulsant and antispasmodic activities.
Its calcium channel blocking property may be mechanistically related to these activities.
Its usefulness in folk medicine appears thus to be based on a sound mechanistic background.