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Updated: May 22, 2026

Polygraphic Recording Procedure for Measuring Sleep in Mice
Published on: January 25, 2016
Safranal enhances non-rapid eye movement sleep in pentobarbital-treated mice
Zheng Liu1, Xin-Hong Xu, Tian-Ya Liu
1State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Aims:
Safranal (2,6,6-trimethyl-1,3-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxaldehyde, C(10) H(14) O) is an active ingredient in the saffron, which is used in traditional medicine. It has been reported to have sedative and anti-epileptic effects, but its hypnotic effects remain uncertain. The aim of this study was to evaluate effects of safranal on sleep-wake cycle.
Methods:
We established hypnotic-model mice treated with a low dose of pentobarbital 20 mg/kg, and administered different doses of safranal, vehicle, or diazepam. The change of sleep-wake cycle was assessed by sleep recording and c-Fos expression in the brain was analyzed by immunohistochemistry.
Results:
Safranal increased the duration of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, shortened NREM sleep latency, and enhanced the delta power activity of NREM sleep. Immunohistochemical evaluation revealed that safranal increased c-Fos expression in the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO), one of the putative sleep centers, and decreased it in the arousal histaminergic tuberomammillary nuclei (TMN).
Conclusion:
These findings indicate that safranal enhances NREM sleep in pentobarbital-treated mice. The hypnotic effects of safranal may be related to the activation of the sleep-promoting neurons in the VLPO and the simultaneous inhibition of the wakefulness-promoting neurons in the TMN, suggesting that safranal may be a hypnotic substance.
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