RESUMEN
An infusion (abafado) prepared from leaves of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus Stapf) administered orally to adult rats for 2 months, in doses up to 20 times larger than the estimated corresponding human dosage, did not induce any effect which could be taken as evidence of toxicity. An absence of effects was also noted in male and female rats and in their offspring when the abafado was administered prior to mating or during pregnancy. These data strongly suggest that lemongrass, as used in Brazilian folk medicine, has no toxic properties.
Asunto(s)
Conducta Animal/efectos de los fármacos , Fertilidad/efectos de los fármacos , Intercambio Materno-Fetal , Extractos Vegetales/toxicidad , Plantas Medicinales , Poaceae , Teratógenos , Administración Oral , Animales , Brasil , Estro/efectos de los fármacos , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Medicina Tradicional , Fitoterapia , Extractos Vegetales/administración & dosificación , Embarazo , RatasRESUMEN
The interaction of 5 psychoactive drugs (ethanol, chlorpromazine, diazepam, pentobarbital and THC) with a nonpharmacological factor was studied in rats. The nonpharmacological variable studied was the level of motivation to overcome the depressant action of the drugs administered. Rats highly motivated to perform a learned escape response (high intensity footshocks during training) required significantly higher doses of ethanol to become impaired when compared to low motivated animals (low intensity footshocks during training). However, the level of motivation did not interact with the action of the other 4 drugs, as the doses required to impair the escape response were the same in the low and high motivated rats. The greater susceptibility of ethanol to a nonpharmacological factor when compared to the other psychoactive drugs is discussed.