Title:Synergistic Effect, and Therapeutic Potential of Aqueous Prickly Pear
Extract. In vivo Neuroleptic, Catatonic, and Hypoglycemic Activity
Volume: 17
Issue: 4
Author(s): Farah Kenza Benattia*, Zoheir Arrar, Fayçal Dergal and Youssef Khabbal
Affiliation:
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Natural Products and Analysis
(COSNA), University Abou Bekr Belkaïd, P.O. Box 119 Tlemcen 13000, Algeria
Keywords:
Nopal, seeds, diabetes, hypnosis, therapy, pharmacological, phytochemical screening.
Abstract:
Background: Prickly pear "Opuntia ficus indica (L.) Mill. "otherwise known as the Indian
fig tree, belongs to the family Cactaceae, and was known as a medicinal plant for its rich source
of bioactive substances.
Objective: The present work aims to promote prickly pear seeds for traditional therapy by phenolic
profiling and pharmacological tests of aqueous extract.
Method: An analytical quantification was performed by UV-Visible, and the identification of different
bioactive compounds was done by HPLC-DAD. For pharmacological screening, an
in vivo
evaluation of the various tests, neuroleptic activity which consists of testing the recovery reflex;
catatonic activity which is a test to detect catalepsy that can be characterized in animals by the administration
of neuroleptic drugs; and for hypoglycemic activity a test was performed to assess glucose
tolerance.
Results: The administration of aqueous extract of the prickly pear seeds at a dose (400 mg/kg) allows
a reduction in blood sugar with a maximum decrease of one and a half hours compared to the
control group.
Conclusion: This work makes it possible to postulate that the extract of prickly pear seeds is associated
with a very interesting antihyperglycemic activity given its high content of phenolic compounds.
