I am currently working on the anxiolytic effect of Hygrophila Spinosa, i have 3 types of extract of this plant - Aqueous, Methanol and E. Acetate extract.
i will be using 3 concentrations per extract and administer 1 concentration per group of mice.
Since E. Acetate extract won't dissolve in saline or water, i want to use 5% DMSO. Can i use 5% DMSO to dissolve all 3 types of extracts and then administer 5% DMSO to the control group because it's the vehicle?
Also can i use 5% DMSO to dilute the standard drug too?
Thanks in advance!
Yes, you can use 5% DMSO to dissolve all extracts and also administer 5% DMSO to the control group. We can't be sure that DMSO won't affect your standard drug. In the alternative, use DMSO to dissolve the ethyl acetate fraction,and then add a plain DMSO group to the study.
Thank a lot for the insightful answer, will it be okay if i use DMSO to dilute the ethyl acetate extract only and use saline for all the other dilution and use saline as control?
You should reduce the percentage of DMSO as it is highly toxic to animals. The agent which is used for dissolving the plant extract and standard drug is used as control.
Hello, Sayeman! If you use DMSO as a vehicle then you may compare it only with a control group with DMSO alone. And if saline is a vehicle then compare only with a control group with a saline alone. I would recommend also to compare two control groups - treated either with a saline or with DMSO; it could help you to clarify any effects of DMSO on your tests of interest. From my experience (I used DMSO to dissolve an anticoagulant drug, followed by i.v. injection and measurement of the tail tip bleeding time and blood loss), DMSO at less than 0.5% in blood resulted in a much higher deviation of the bleeding test results. I would recommend you to use some other solute as a vehicle (I use a mixture of PEG1500, water and glycerol). Good luck!