BIOACTIVITY STUDIES ON THE ALKALOID EXTRACTS FROM SEEDS OF LEUCAENA-LEUCOCEPHALA

The chloroform soluble (CS) and ethyl acetate (ES) soluble alkaloidal extracts from the seeds of Leucaena leucocephala Lam, (de Witt) were t ested for their analgesic, anthelminthic, mutagenic, antimutagenic and pharmacological activities, The CS alkaloidal extract is analgesic at a dose of 5 mg/20 g mouse as it showed a comparable result to mefenam ic acid casing the acetic acid-induced writhing method, An in vitro te st for anthelminthic activity using Ascaris suum showed that the CS al kaloidal extract gave a comparable result to mebendazole (Antiox) at a concentration of 5 mg/mL, Results of the micronucleus test, an in viv o method, showed that both the CS and ES alkaloidal extracts were not mutagenic but instead exhibited antimutagenic activities at 0.5 mg/20 g mouse, The CS- and ES-soluble alkaloidal extracts reduced the number of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes induced by tetracycline, a known mutagen, by 67.0% and 71.2%, respectively, Preliminary pharma cological. screening showed that both extracts caused a relative depre ssion in the central nervous system as evidenced by a decrease in resp iratory rate and depth and a decrease in motor activity. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.