ABSTRACT
Punica granatum has been used for centuries to confer health benefits in a number of inflammatory diseases. Based on its usage in Ayurvedic and Unani medicine, dietary supplements containing pomegranate extract are becoming popular for the treatment and prevention of arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. Pet-ether, dichloromethane and methanol fractions of flower part were chosen for pharmacological screening and analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities in animal model. The anti-inflammatory activity was assessed using the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema model. The analgesic effect was measured in mice using the acetic acid-induced writhing test. In the acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice, pet-ether, dichloromethane and methanol fractions at 200 mg/kg doses level showed 75.77% (p<0.001), 68.56% (p<0.001), 54.64% (p<0.001) inhibition of writhing, respectively. In rat paw edema model induced by carrageenan, pet-ether, dichloromethane and methanol fractions were found to reduce significantly (p<0.001) the formation of edema at the 100 mg/kg dose level and showed 26.92% (p<0.001), 27.97%(p<0.001), 21.85%(p<0.001) inhibition respectively of edema volume at the end of 4 h. Punica granatum possesses evident analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. The results signify the traditional uses of Punica granatum for inflammation and pain.
ABSTRACT
The present study was designed to evaluate analgesic potential of the methanolic extracts of the leaves of the both Glycosmis pentaphylla (Rutaceae) and Eugenia fruticosa (Myrtaceae). The analgesic activity was evaluated using the acetic acid (0.7% i.p.)-induced writhing inhibition method in swiss albino mice. The methanolic extract of leaves of Glycosmis pentaphylla, at the dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight significantly (p<0.001) reduced the number of writhes with 31.97% and 44.21% of inhibition, respectively compared to control group. The methanolic extracts of leaves of Eugenia fruticosa significantly and dose dependently reduced the pain threshold (p<0.001) with 51.02 and 72.1% of writhing inhibition when compared to the control group at the dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight, respectively which were comparable to that of the standard drug Diclofenac Na (65.31% inhibition of writhing, p<0.001). The results of the study demonstrated the potential antinociceptive activity of the methanolic extracts of the leaves of Glycosmis pentaphylla and Eugenia fruticosa which validated the traditional uses of the both plants in painful diseases and further investigations to elucidate the mechanism of action are required.