Anticonvulsant activity of Diospyros fischeri root extracts.

Diospyros fischeri Gurke (Ebenaceae) is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of epilepsy. Dichloromethane, ethylacetate, and ethanol extracts of the roots, at doses between 100 and 1600 mg/kg BW, inhibited convulsions induced by the gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAa) receptor antagonist, pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), in a dose dependent manner. The extracts also exhibited low toxicity against brine shrimps giving LC(50) values between 45.4 and 95.4 microg/ml. These results provide evidence for the potential of D. fischeri extracts to treat absence seizures, especially given their seemingly innocuous nature.