EVALUATION OF SKELETAL MUSCLE RELAXANT ACTIVITY OF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF NERIUM OLEANDER LEAVES IN ALBINO RATS
Nerium oleander is traditionally used in various diseases because of its medicinal properties. One of its uses is in musculoskeletal disorder. To evaluate the skeletal muscle relaxant activity of the Aqueous extract of Nerium oleander leaves (AENOL) in albino rats in Comparison with Diazepam. Thirty Swiss albino rats (SWR) aged six to seven weeks, of either sex, weighing about 100 – 150 g, were taken, and after acute toxicity studies three different doses were selected. The animals were divided into five different groups. The first group was kept as the control (Normal Saline), second as the standard (Diazepam) and the remaining three groups as Test I, Test II, and Test III, and given different doses of the AENOL. Skeletal muscle relaxant activity (motor coordination) on Rotarod and locomotor activity on Photoactometer was performed. The results were expressed as mean ± SD. Statistical analysis was carried out by using ANOVA, followed by Dunnet’s multiple comparison tests, using primer of biostatistics McGraw–Hill software version 5.0.0.0 (2011). P-values < 0.05 were considered significant. The result from the Actophotometer test and Rotarod test showed that the extract significantly reduced the motor coordination of the tested animals. Our data indicates that AENOL possesses skeletal muscle relaxant activities