Evaluation of the sedative and hypnotic effects of ethanol-extract isolated from Herba Agrimoniae in mice

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sedative and hypnotic activities of ethanol-extract isolated from Herba Agrimoniae on the central nervous system. Herba Agrimoniae has been used as a traditional herbal medicine for treating various cancers and diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. In the experiments, the extract of Herba Agrimoniae showed signifcant effects on mice, including reduced spontaneous activity, increased sleep ratio, shortened sleep latency and lengthened sleep time with a subthreshold or superthreshold dose of pentobarbital sodium. These findings confirmed that ethanol-extract isolated from Herba Agrimoniae had sedative and hypnotic effects and has potential to be preferable for the treatment of insomnia.