Monoamine levels in rat striatum after acute intraperitoneal injection of strictosidinic acid isolated from Psychotria myriantha Mull. Arg. (Rubiaceae)

Strictosidinic acid 10 mg/kg, isolated from Psychotria myriantha leaves, were administered intraperitoneally to Wistar male rats (n=5-6). After 60 minutes, striatum was dissected, homogenized and injected onto HPLC-ED chromatographic system. It was observed a 28.7% reduction in the 5-HT levels followed up by an increase of 5-HIAA levels (29.4%). Furthermore there was a decrease of 8.0% in DA levels and an increase in the levels of metabolites DOPAC (21.5%) and HVA (52.5%). The results indicate that strictosidinic acid has a promising effect in the central nervous system, justifying more studies about the central actions of Psychotria compounds.