ANTICONVULSANT PROPERTIES OF GAMMA-DECANOLACTONE IN MICE

Lactones have been proven to be bioactive. We have shown that: compoun ds present in the essential oil from Aeollanthus suaveolens, used as a n anticonvulsant in the Brazilian Amazon, has sedative properties. Thi s paper reports on the evaluation of the systemic administration of ga mma-decanolactone, structurally related to lactones present in the ess ential oil of A. suaveolens, on mice experimental models useful for de tecting psychopharmacological activity. The results show that gamma-de canolactone has dose-dependent marked effects on the central nervous s ystem, including hypnotic, anticonvulsant and hypothermic activity. Th e effects of gamma-decanolactone revealed by this evaluation point to the validity of exploring lactones as sources of new anticonvulsant ag ents. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.