{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T10:49:54Z","timestamp":1788259794003,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2018,7,31]],"date-time":"2018-07-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1532995200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Sleeplessness is the most common sleep disorder. In this study, the hypnotic effect of macerated (HAME) and soxhlet (HASE) extract of Lagenaria vulgaris (fruit and seed) and Cucurbita pepo (fruit) were studied in mice. Methods: Extracts and fractions were administered intra-peritoneally (i.p.) in mice 30 min before the sodium pentobarbital (30 mg\/kg, i.p.). Moreover, the influence of flumazenil or naloxone on the hypnotic effects of the extract and its toxic effects were evaluated. Results: The HAME and HASE of C. pepo prolonged the pentobarbital-induced sleep duration at dose of 200 mg\/kg. The HAME of L. vulgaris (fruit) at dose of 200 mg\/kg increased the sleeping time. The HAME and HASE of L. vulgaris (seed) increased sleep duration at doses of 50 and 100 mg\/kg. Besides, flumazenil (2 mg\/kg) reversed the effects of both diazepam (P &lt; 0.001 vs. diazepam group), 200 mg\/kg of HAME of C. pepo and 50 mg\/kg of HAME and HASE of L. vulgaris (seed). All fractions especially ethyl-acetate fraction (EAF) of L. vulgaris (seed) increased the sleep duration. Naloxone reversed the hypnotic effect of HAME and HASE of L. vulgaris (seed). The extracts showed no neurotoxic effects on PC12 and L929 cell lines. Conclusion: The results showed that L. vulgaris (seed and fruit) and C. pepo potentiated pentobarbital hypnosis without toxic influence. The hypnotic effects of L. vulgaris seed was greater than its fruit and C. pepo. The GABA and opioid receptors may play role in the sleep-induction of L. vulgaris seed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina54040055","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,1]],"date-time":"2018-08-01T03:10:01Z","timestamp":1533093001000},"page":"55","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Evaluation of the Sleep-Prolonging Effect of Lagenaria vulgaris and Cucurbita pepo Extracts on Pentobarbital-Induced Sleep and Possible Mechanisms of Action"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"54","author":[{"given":"Vafa","family":"Baradaran Rahimi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Student Research Committee, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 91778-99191, Iran"},{"name":"Pharmacological Research Center of Medicinal Plants, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 91778-99191, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vahid","family":"Askari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Student Research Committee, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 91778-99191, Iran"},{"name":"Pharmacological Research Center of Medicinal Plants, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 91778-99191, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amineh","family":"Tajani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Control, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 91778-99191, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Azar","family":"Hosseini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmacological Research Center of Medicinal Plants, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 91778-99191, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hassan","family":"Rakhshandeh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Student Research Committee, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 91778-99191, Iran"},{"name":"Pharmacological Research Center of Medicinal Plants, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 91778-99191, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2018,7,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S18","DOI":"10.1016\/S1389-9457(08)70012-1","article-title":"Sleep, insomnia and falls in elderly patients","volume":"9","author":"Stone","year":"2008","journal-title":"Sleep Med."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e24261","DOI":"10.5812\/ircmj.24261","article-title":"Hypnotic Effect of Ocimum basilicum on Pentobarbital-Induced Sleep in Mice","volume":"18","author":"Askari","year":"2016","journal-title":"Iran. 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