Behavioural Effects of Alkaloid Fraction from Narcissus cv. “Hawera” on Rats

Abstract

Sceletium-type alkaloids containing plants have a long history of traditional use, but recent studies emphasize their use as supplements in the treatment of anxiety, stress, and depression disorder. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Sceletium-type alkaloid fraction from Narcissus cv. “Hawera” (MZM) on the anxiety and depressive-like behaviour in healthy female Wistar rats and rats with an experimental model of diabetes mellitus type 1 (T1DM), induced by streptozotocin injection. “Forced swimming”, “Open field”, “Elevated plus-maze” and “Paw-pressure” tests were used for the study of anxiety, depressive-like behaviour, habituation, and nociception, respectively. T1DM caused a significant decrease in overall motor activity, increased depressive-like behaviour, and impaired habituation to a new environment without altering the anxiety behaviour. MZM (20 mg/kg, 20 days) significantly attenuated depressive-like behaviour, reduced anxiety behaviour, and improved habituation in healthy rats without altering their overall motor activity. MZM treatment exerted weak influence on the DM-induced metabolic changes and did not change DM-induced behavioural abnormalities.