ANTIPSYCHOTIC PROFILE OF ALSTONINE: ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY OF A TRADITIONAL NIGERIAN BOTANICAL REMEDY

The available treatment for schizophrenia, a severe psychiatric disorder, still presents serious drawbacks and is ineffective in a significant portion of patients. The lack of enough understanding of its pathophysiology limits possibilities for rational drug design, motivating innovative approaches in the search for antipsychotics. In Nigeria there are several categories of traditional healers, including traditional psychiatrists. An investigation based upon the ethnopharmacological rational was conducted with a plant based remedy with alleged antipsychotic properties. This paper reports that alstonine, the major alkaloid present in the traditional preparation, has antipsychotic-like properties as evaluated in mice.