ABSTRACT
In this study we evaluated the analgesic and anti- inflammatory activities of the essential oil (EO) of the fruits of Dennettia tripetala in rodents. The plant is a tropical African plant and the fruits are commonly eaten as spices and consumed as a stimulant, and its various parts are used in the treatment of fever, cough and as anti-emetics. The analgesic effects of the oil was assessed in mice using the hot plate, acetic acid-induced writhings and formalin test, while carrageenan-induced paw oedema was used to study the antiinflammatory effects in rats. The EO at 25-50 mg/kg exhibited significant (p0.05) antinociceptive effects comparable to a potent opioid agonist, morphine (10 mg/kg) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as, aspirin (100 mg/kg) and indomethacin (80 mg/kg). The antinociceptive effect of the EO was also blocked by naloxone (2 mg/kg) in all the models used. The EO demonstrated significant (p0.05) anti-inflammatory effect in the carrageenan-induced paw oedema model of inflammation that is also comparable to dexamethasone (1 mg/kg) The results showed that the essential oil of D.tripetala possesses significant antinociceptive and antiinflammatory effects in the animal models used. The results also suggest that the analgesic effects may be mediated both centrally as well as peripherally, while the antiinflammatory activity may be effective in both early and late phases of inflammation. The results obtained may therefore be used to rationalize the use of the plant in the treatment of pain and fever in traditional medicine
Subject(s)
Analgesics , Annonaceae , Anti-Inflammatory Agents , Nigeria , Oils, VolatileABSTRACT
Ten Nigerian plants suggested from their ethnomedical uses to possess antimicrobial and antioxidant activities were studied for their anti-microbial and anti-oxidant properties. Antimicrobial activity was tested against Escherichia coli NCTC 10418, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Candida albicans, Candida pseudotropicalis and Trichophyton rubrum (clinical isolate). Trichilia heudelotti leaf extract showed both antibacterial and antifungal activities and was the most active against all the strains of bacteria tested. Boerhavia diffusa, Markhamia tomentosa and T. heudelotti leaf extracts inhibited the gram negative bacteria E.coli and P. aeruginosa strains whereas those of M. tomentosa, T. heudelotti and Sphenoceutrum jollyamum root inhibited at least one of the fungi tested. At a concentration of 312 µg/ml, hexane and chloroform fractions of T. heudelotti extract inhibited 6 and 14% of the fifty mult-idrug resistant bacteria isolates from clinical infectins, respectively. At ⤠5mg/ml, the CHCl3 (64%) and aqueous (22%) fractions of T. heudelotti and those of CHCl3 (34%) and EtOAC (48%) of M. tomentosa gave the highest inhibition that was stronger than their corresponding methanol extracts. The corresponding EC50 of the extracts on M. acuminata, T. heudelotti, E. senegalensis and M. tomentosa were 4.00, 6.50, 13.33, and 16.50 ig/ml using the TLC staining and 1,1-dipheyl-2-picry-hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. Therefore, leaf extracts of M. tomentosa and T. heudelotti, especially the latter, possess strong antimicrobial and antioxidant activities and should be further investigated. These activities justified the ethnomedical uses of these plants
Subject(s)
Antioxidants , Plants, MedicinalABSTRACT
The aqueous leaf; stem - bark; seed and fruit pericarp extracts of Pentaclethra macrophylla were examined for their cytotoxicity; while only the leaves and seeds were tested for analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities using in-vivo and in-vitro experimental models. Cytotoxicity haemagglutination assay revealed the following order of toxicity among the plant parts: fruit pericarp stem - bark seed leaf with 71.4; 25.6; 5.3; and 0.5 haemagglutination titre values respectively. The extracts at 30 and 60 mg/kg exhibited analgesic activity and anti-inflammatory property using the flick and hot plate tests; acetic acid induced writhing test; and leucocyte counts; pulmonary oedema and oedema paw of mice in a dose-dependent manner. These findings therefore explain and justify ethnomedical uses of Pentaclethra macrophylla in the treatment of itching (inflammatory response) and pain in animals and in man