Anti-Cataleptic Activity, Evaluation of Graded Doses and Different Ratios of Polyherbal Formulation Triphala against Haloperidol-Induced Catalepsy in Swiss Albino Mice

Abstract

Background: Extrapyramidal side effects are a considerable risk associated with most drugs used to treat psychotic illnesses, and they can negatively impact treatment outcomes. Consequently, there is an ongoing requirement to investigate alternative medicines for managing the side effects. Triphala consists of Terminalia chebula Retz. (Haritaki), Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb. (Bibhitaki) and Emblica officinalis Gaertn. (Amlaki) in equal ratio (1:1:1) is one of the most important polyherbal formulations used in the Indian system of medicine. The objective of the present study was to investigate the preventive efficacy of graded doses of different ratios of Triphala (formulations) and antioxidant effects against haloperidol in Swiss albino mice. Methods: Graded doses (2.5, 6.25, 12.5 mg/kg) of Triphala in the ratio of 1:1:1, 1:2:3, and 1:2:4 proportions of the three myrobalans, or scopolamine (1.0 mg/kg) or ondansetron (0.5 mg/kg) were pretreated daily (per oral) for 7 days, before administration of haloperidol (5.0 mg/kg, i.p, on 7th day) to induce catalepsy in Swiss albino mice. The behavioral parameters were recorded using the standard bar test, akinesia, and rotarod test at various time points. The animals were euthanized, and the brain was used to study the levels of superoxide dismutase and lipid peroxidation. The data was subjected to a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Dunnett test and a p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: The findings show that Triphala enhanced superoxide dismutase and decreased lipid peroxidation, and it significantly (p < 0.001) decreased the cataleptic, rotarod, and akinesia scores. The results were comparable with the observations recorded for standard drugs. Besides, lower (2.5 mg/kg) and higher (12.5 mg/kg) doses of Triphala formulations exhibited enhanced efficacy (p < 0.001) than standards at the initial periods after haloperidol exposure. Further, the improvement in antioxidant status was also found to be better than standards. Conclusion: The data suggested that the Triphala formulations might possess better efficacy than scopolamine and ondansetron in preventing haloperidol-induced complications. More research in this direction might identify an alternative safe herbal medicine for preventing as well as treating the extrapyramidal side effects of antipsychotics.