ABSTRACT
Background: Cleome viscosa Linn a plant from the family Capparaceae has been used in traditional medicine in Asia and Africa for the treatment of various diseases including diarrhea, cardiac stimulant, anthelmintic, carminative, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic. Decoction of the whole plant has been used for the treatment of inflammation and as a stimulant while the leaves have been applied externally on wounds and ulcers. The objective of this study is to investigate and evaluate the antipyretic and analgesic properties, toxicity profile and the phytochemical study of the methanolic leaf extract of African Cleome viscosa.Methods: The antipyretic study was performed by adopting the Baker’s yeast induced pyrexia in rats while the analgesic study was performed adopting the tail immersion or tail flick technique. Data generated was analyzed as appropriate using the analysis of variance (ANOVA).Results: The methanolic extract of the leaves of the African Cleome viscosa had a significant (P<0.05) antipyretic and analgesic effects at different time intervals and varying doses when compared with the negative control groups in the respective studies. The preliminary phytochemical study showed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, steroids, glycosides and flavonoids. The extract also proved to be non-toxic in the acute toxicity study carried out at the highest dose of 5000mg/kg body weight administered to the albino rats.Conclusions: The methanolic leaf extract of the plant showed significant antipyretic and analgesic activity in albino rats thus supporting its use in traditional medicine.