Kavain, the Major Constituent of the Anxiolytic Kava Extract, Potentiates GABAA Receptors: Functional Characteristics and Molecular Mechanism
Fig 3
Kavain produced greater enhancement of GABA-elicited currents at α4β2δ than at α1β2γ2L GABAARs.
(A) GABA concentration-response curves in the absence (black; n = 10) and presence (red; n = 6) of 300 μM kavain at α1β2γ2L GABAARs. The curve parameters are summarised in Table 1. (B) GABA concentration-response curves in the absence (black; n = 4) and presence (red; n = 4) of 300 μM kavain at α4β2δ GABAARs. The curve parameters are summarised in Table 1. (C) Superimposed current responses of maximal GABA in the absence (black) and presence (red) of 300 μM kavain at α1β2γ2L and α4β2δ GABAARs. (D) The effect of kavain on the maximal GABA current responses at α1β2γ2L (n = 6) and α4β2δ (n = 7) GABAARs was compared using the paired t test, and the significance levels are indicated with n.s. (not significant) and **** (p < 0.0001). Data are presented as mean ± SEM.