Sedative and Anxiolytic Activities of Cassia spectabilis Leaf Extract: An In Vivo and In Silico Evaluation in a Mouse Model of Stress.

Anxiety and depression are psychiatric disorders strongly associated with insomnia. This study aimed to examine the sedative and anxiolytic activities of a 70% ethanol leaf extract of Cassia spectabilis DC (CS70EE) in a mouse model with electric foot shock (EFS)-induced stress. Male BALB/c mice were subjected to mild EFS (1 mA) for 15 × 1 s for five consecutive days. The stressed mice were administered various doses of CS70EE, diazepam, and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (0.5%) for comparison. The hole cross (HC) and thiopental sodium (TS)-induced sleep time method was used to assess sedative activity, while the elevated plus maze (EPM) test was used to assess anxiolytic activity. An in silico study was performed to predict the potential of active compounds in the extracts against sedative/anxiolytic target protein. The protein used is γ-aminobutyric acid receptor-associated protein (PDB code: 3D32). CS70EE at a dose of 500 mg/kg showed sedative activity in mice by significantly decreasing the number of passages through the hole in the HC test and increasing the TS-induced sleep duration (p  <  0.05). In the EPM test, stressed mice that were administered the extract (50 and 100 mg/kg) showed a significant increase in the time spent in the open arm (p  >  0.05). Meanwhile, molecular docking study in silico showed that spectaline compounds may play a crucial role in this activity. In conclusion, CS70EE exhibited sedative and anxiolytic effects in mice subjected to EFS-induced stress.