社団法人日本薬学会 Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin 09186158 28 5 808 810 2005-05-01 2005-05-01 Hypnotic Activities of Chamomile and Passiflora Extracts in Sleep-Disturbed Rats(Pharmacology) SHINOMIYA,Kazuaki INOUE,Toshio UTSU,Yoshiaki TOKUNAGA,Shin MASUOKA,Takayoshi OHMORI,Asae KAMEI,Chiaki The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin In the present study, we investigated hypnotic activities of chamomile and passiflora extracts using sleep-disturbed model rats. A significant decrease in sleep latency was observed with chamomile extract at a dose of 300mg/kg, while passiflora extract showed no effects on sleep latency even at a dose of 3000mg/kg. No significant effects were observed with both herbal extracts on total times of wakefulness, non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep and REM sleep. Flumazenil, a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, at a dose of 3mg/kg showed a significant antagonistic effect on the shortening in sleep latency induced by chamomile extract. No significant effects were observed with chamomile and passiflora extracts on delta activity during non-REM sleep. In conclusion, chamomile extract is a herb having benzodiazepine-like hypnotic activity. SHINOMIYA,Kazuaki Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University INOUE,Toshio Material R&D Laboratory, Ogawa & Co., Ltd. UTSU,Yoshiaki Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University TOKUNAGA,Shin Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University MASUOKA,Takayoshi Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University OHMORI,Asae Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University KAMEI,Chiaki Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University