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eCAM Advance Access published online on July 23, 2009
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nep083
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© 2009 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Comparative Analysis of Gelsemine and Gelsemium sempervirens Activity on Neurosteroid Allopregnanolone Formation in the Spinal Cord and Limbic System

Christine Venard1, Naoual Boujedaini2, Ayikoe Guy Mensah-Nyagan1 and Christine Patte-Mensah1

1Equipe "Stéroïdes, Neuromodulateurs et Neuropathologies", EA-4438 Université de Strasbourg, Bâtiment 3 de la Faculté de Médecine, F-67000 Strasbourg and 2Laboratoires BOIRON, Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, France

Centesimal dilutions (5, 9 and 15 cH) of Gelsemium sempervirens are claimed to be capable of exerting anxiolytic and analgesic effects. However, basic results supporting this assertion are rare, and the mechanism of action of G. sempervirens is completely unknown. To clarify the point, we performed a comparative analysis of the effects of dilutions 5, 9 and 15 cH of G. sempervirens or gelsemine (the major active principle of G. sempervirens) on allopregnanolone (3{alpha},5{alpha}-THP) production in the rat limbic system (hippocampus and amygdala or H-A) and spinal cord (SC). Indeed, H-A and SC are two pivotal structures controlling, respectively, anxiety and pain that are also modulated by the neurosteroid 3{alpha},5{alpha}-THP. At the dilution 5 cH, both G. sempervirens and gelsemine stimulated [3H]progesterone conversion into [3H]3{alpha},5{alpha}-THP by H-A and SC slices, and the stimulatory effect was fully (100%) reproducible in all assays. The dilution 9 cH of G. sempervirens or gelsemine also stimulated 3{alpha},5{alpha}-THP formation in H-A and SC but the reproducibility rate decreased to 75%. At 15 cH of G. sempervirens or gelsemine, no effect was observed on 3{alpha},5{alpha}-THP neosynthesis in H-A and SC slices. The stimulatory action of G. sempervirens and gelsemine (5 cH) on 3{alpha},5{alpha}-THP production was blocked by strychnine, the selective antagonist of glycine receptors. Altogether, these results, which constitute the first basic demonstration of cellular effects of G. sempervirens, also offer interesting possibilities for the improvement of G. sempervirens-based therapeutic strategies.

Keywords: allopregnanolone – anxiety – Gelsemium sempervirens – glycine receptor-pain

For reprints and all correspondence: A.G. Mensah-Nyagan, Equipe "Stéroïdes, Neuromodulateurs et Neuropathologies", EA-4438 Université de Strasbourg, Bâtiment 3 de la Faculté de Médecine, 11 rue Humann, F-67000 Strasbourg, France. Tel: +33-390-243124; Fax: +33-390-243-570; E-mail: gmensah{at}unistra.fr

Received February 10, 2009; accepted June 15, 2009


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