ABSTRACT
Aims: The aim of the current study was to undertake phytochemical screenings and evaluate antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of the methanol extract of whole plant of Vernonia cinerea Less. (VCME). Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out for one year in 2012 in the Department of Pharmacy, Southern University Bangladesh, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Methodology: For preliminary phytochemical screenings, the crude methanol extract of V. cinerea was subjected to various tests to determine the chemical nature of the extract. Antipyretic activity was assessed by the yeast-induced hyperthermia in mice. The analgesic property was evaluated by formalin-induced writhing test. Acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) was used as standard in in-vitro anti-inflammatory activity test. Results: Results of the preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids and triterpenoids in the extract. In yeast-induced pyrexia, the crude extract demonstrated a significant (p=0.05) reduction of mices’ body temperature after elevation by the administration of yeast. These effects were pronounced at the 2nd and 3rd h post-treatment with the extract. VCME exhibited a dose dependent activity in analgesic activity test with 32.61% and 52.17% protection at the dose of 200 and 400mg/kg, respectively as compared to that 76.09% exhibited by standard diclofenac sodium. In the anti-inflammatory test, the crude extract at the dose of 400μg/ml showed 65.12% inhibition of protein denaturation whereas standard acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) revealed 76.74% inhibition. Conclusion: These results revealed that V. cinerea may be used in pharmaceutical applications because of its effective pharmacological properties.
ABSTRACT
Aims: The crude methanol extract of whole plant of Blumea lacera (Burn.f.) DC. has been investigated for anti-diarrheal, antimicrobial, anxiolytic, anti-atherothrombosis, membrane stabilizing and alpha-amylase inhibitory activities. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in 2013 in the Department of Pharmacy, Southern University Bangladesh, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Methodology: Test for anti-diarrheal activity was carried out by castor oil-induced diarrhea in mice. The preliminary antimicrobial activity was determined by the agar disc diffusion method. The anxiolytic activity was examined in mice by using the hole board test and open field test (OFT). The anti-atherothrombosis activity was evaluated using standard streptokinase. The membrane stabilizing activity was assessed by using hypotonic solution induced hemolysis of human erythrocyte. The plant extract was also assessed for anti-diabetic ability using In vitro α-amylase inhibitory potential. The α- amylase inhibitory activity of B. lacera was measured using the starch-iodine method. Results: The crude extract of B. lacera showed anti-diarrheal activity in dose-dependent manner. In antimicrobial assay, this extract showed better activity against the tested fungi compared to the bacteria used in the screening. Significant anxiolytic activity was found for this plant extract. In the In vitro anti-atherothrombosis test, the extract exhibited 46.17% clot lysis as compared to the standard, streptokinase (81.53%). In membrane stabilizing activity test, the plant extract at 1.0mg/ml inhibited the heat-induced hemolysis of RBCs by 52.27% whereas the standard acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) demonstrated 81.72% inhibition of hemolysis. Our results revealed that the extract had dose dependent prevention of digestion of carbohydrates by inhibiting α-amylase. The ability of B. lacera to inhibit thermal-and hypotonic-enzyme activity was found to be statistically significant (p=0.05). Conclusion: These results demonstrated that B. lacera may be used in pharmaceutical applications because of its effective pharmacological properties.