SCENT AND SEIZURE: LANTANA CAMARA’S EFFECT ON OLFACTION IN DROSOPHILA PARA EPILEPTIC MUTANT

Drosophila melanogaster serves as an ideal model for studying olfactory perception due to shared cellular and molecular odor-coding strategies with mammals. Olfactory dysfunction commonly appears as a non-motor symptom in neurological disorders like Epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease, often before motor symptoms develop. This study examined Lantana camara’s flower and leaf extracts on olfactory perception in Epileptic para bangsenseless¹ Drosophila mutant. L. camara flowers and leaves were shade dried, grounded, and prepared as aqueous extracts using Soxhlet apparatus. 2-5 day old adult flies were maintained on cornmeal-yeast-agar medium containing extracts at different concentrations for 24 hours, followed by 24-hour starvation. Olfactory behavioral assays were conducted using a vial-based setup with attractant (yeast paste) and repellent (citronella oil) stimuli, measuring response times to olfactory perception. High-dose flower extracts yielded the most significant enhancement, achieving response times similar to wild-type control flies. L. camara extracts modulate olfactory sensory neuron properties, potentially normalizing signal transduction disruptions in the epileptic model. These dose-dependent improvements suggest the plant can restore sensory circuit functionality in neurological conditions, warranting investigation into specific bioactive compounds and mechanisms.