European Journal of Medicinal Plants

Study Background: The current study has been designed to evaluate the antistress activity of bioactive compound, Negundin A from hydroalcoholic extract of the leaves of Vitex negundo. An attempt has been made to isolate the bioactive principle by resorting to bioactivity directed fractionation and column chromatographic technique. Isolated compound, Negundin A from leaves of Vitex negundo was investigated on acute physical stress stress (swimming endurance test), chemical stress (writhing test) and Acute restraint stress induced biochemical alterations in swiss mice. 

Methodology: The plant leaves were extracted with hexane followed by ethanol, the extract so obtained was fractionated using chloroform to obtain chloroform soluble fraction. Negundin A was isolated from chloroform soluble fraction using column chromatography and characterized by techniques like Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Nuclear magnetic resonance ¹HNMR. Isolated compound was screened for antistress activity. The effect was assessed by Swimming endurance test, writhing test and estimation of various biochemical parameters in Acute restraint stress like glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides and BUN levels at different doses of 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight per oral. Diazepam (2 mg/kg, ip) was used as standard drug.

Results: Negundin A treated animals showed increase in swimming endurance time and reduced number of writhes in physical and chemical-induced stress models respectively.  Similarly, concomitant treatment with Negundin A at different doses showed marked decrease in blood glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides and BUN level as compared to stress control in Acute restraint stress models.

Conclusion: This is the first report of antistress activity of Negundin A and isolation of Negundin A by column chromatography from hydroalcoholic exract. The results in present research indicate that the isolated compound Negundin A of Vitex negundo extract has significant antistress activity against a variety of biochemical and physiological perturbations in stress models.