Postsynaptic Dopamine (D2)-Receptor May be Involved in the Behavioral Activities of Artemisinin in Rodents

Abstract

Behavioural effects of Artemisinin (AR) were studied on spontaneous motor activity (SMA), exploratory behaviour (EB), apomorphine induced stereo- typed behaviour (ASB) in mice and bromocriptine induced hyperactivity (BIH) in short-term reserpinized(STR) mice. AR (50 and 100 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly (p \u3c 0.05) reduced the SMA, EB and attenuated ASB mice. The STR Mice showed a decreased in locomotor activity (LA), which was activated by bromocriptine (5 mg/kg, i.p.). AR attenuated BIH in the STR mice. The results suggest that artemisinin possesses central inhibitory property, which may be mediated via postsynaptic dopamin E (D2)-receptor antagonism in the brain stem area