Sedative-Hypnotic Activity of Extracts and Essential Oil of Coriander Seeds

Background: coriandrum sativum l. has been recommendedfor relief of insomnia in iranian traditional medicine.however, no pharmacological studies have yet evaluatedits sedative effects. the aim of this study was to determine if extracts and essential oi i of coriander seeds havesedative-hypnotic activity.methods: the aqueous or hydro-alcoholic extracts or essentialoil of coriander seeds (100, 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg) wereintraperitoneally administered to male albino mice, 30 minutesbefore pentobarbital injection (40 mg/kg). latency to sleepand sleep duration were recorded.results: aqueous extract prolonged pentobarbital-inducedsleeping time at 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg. hydro-alcoholicextract at doses of 400 and 600 mg/kg increased pentobarbitalinducedsleeping time compared to saline-treated group. theessential oil increased pentobarbital-induced sleeping timeonly at 600 mg/kg.conclusion: the extracts and essential oil of corianderseeds possess sedative-hypnotic activity. however, it isstrongly suggested that the major active component(s) responsiblefor the hypnotic effect is mainly present in theaqueous extract.