Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic Effects of the Methanol Stem Bark Extract of Brachystegia eurycoma Harms (Fabaceae).

Aims: The aim of the study was to investigate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of the methanol stem bark extract of Brachystegia eurycoma Harms. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Benin. Methodology: Analgesic activity was examined using the hot plate and acetic acidinduced writhing test while acute anti-inflammatory effect was studied using carrageenan and dextran-induced paw edema. Results: Oral administration of the extract produced significant (P<0.01) antiedematogenic effect with a dose of 100 mg/kg within the 2nd and 4th h of the experiment in the dextran-induced paw edema and within the 1st and 3rd h in the carrageenan model. The extract exhibited a significant (P<0.001) inhibition of acetic acidinduced writhing. In the hot plate test, the extract (100 mg/kg) significantly (P<0.05) prolonged the reaction latency to pain at the 60 min. Oral acute toxicity studies did not show any mortality at 5 g/kg of the plant extract. Conclusion: This study showed that Brachystegia eurycoma possesses significant antiinflammatory and analgesic properties.

Preliminary studies of blood pressure lowering effect of Nauclea latifolia in rats

Roots of Nauclea latifolia are used in Nigeria for the treatment of hypertension. Ethanolic extract of the root of N. latifolia was administered to anaesthetised rats through the jugular vein while the blood pressure was measured through the carotid artery. The extract reduced systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressure in normotensive and in one kidney one clip hypertensive rats in a dose dependant manner. 10 mg/kg of the extract reduced the mean arterial pressure from 115.7 ± 0.4 to 99.6 ± 3.8 mm Hg, while it reduced the systolic and diastolic from 125.6 ± 0.5 to 102.4 ± 4.0 and from 110.5 ± 0.3 to 95.0 ± 3.2 mm Hg respectively. The changes caused in hypertensive rats were much greater. The same dose of the extract reduced the mean arterial pressure from 157.4 ± 4.7 to 72.0 ± 3.6 mm Hg, while it reduced the systolic and diastolic blood pressures from 180.0 ± 5.7 to 90.1 ± 2.6 and from 146.2 ± 3.3 to 63.0 ± 4.9 mm Hg respectively. The extract (10 mg/kg) also reduced the heart rate of normotensive rats from 365 ±12.8 to 280 ± 6.0 beats/min, while it reduced the heart rate of hypertensive rats from 550 ± 22.5 to 120 ± 8.0 beats/min. The reduction in blood pressure and heart rate was not affected by prior treatment with atropine or promethazine