RESUMO
Aims: The present research aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory action of hexane and ethyl acetate extracts of Hura crepitans L. (Euphorbiaceae) grown in Nigeria Study Design: The study involves the extraction of crude extracts from the leaf of H. crepitans and the evaluation of their anti-inflammatory potential. Place and Duration of Study: Fresh leaves of H. crepitans were collected from Festac Town, Amuwo-Odofin in Lagos, Nigeria (6.4664oN, 3.2835oE). The sheets were air-dried in the laboratory of Lagos State University where the extraction of crude and anti-inflammatory studies took place. The study lasted between March and November 2017. Methodology: The dried and pulverised leaves (0.5 kg) of H. crepitans were separately macerated in hexane and ethyl acetate for five (5) days in an airtight bottle and shook periodically (agitation) to maximise full extraction of the phyto-constituents. The extracts were decanted, filtered and concentrated on a rotary evaporator to obtained dried samples. The anti-inflammatory activity was determined on fresh egg albumins over 4 h by measurement of rat paw edema according to established procedure. Results: The result of the extraction shows that more phytochemicals are present in the ethyl acetate extract (15.0%) as compared to the hexane extract (7.2%). The anti-inflammatory activities of the ethyl acetate and hexane extracts of H. crepitans on Wistar rats using egg-albumin as phlogistic agents shows a moderate inhibition with a significant value of P< 0.05 at a dose of 200 mg/kg orally. Percentage inhibition of the anti-inflammation decreases steadily from the 1st hr to the 4th hr for the hexane extract (11.7 to 1.5% ) while there was an increment in the ethyl acetate extract from 12% to 32.5% for the 1st and the 4th hr respectively when compared with the control. Conclusion: This study has shown that the extracts of H. crepitans leaves possessed a significant anti-oedematogenic effect on paw oedema induced by egg-albumin by inhibiting the release of mediators for the entire 4 h experimental period.
RESUMO
The chemical composition of the leaf essential oil of Croton zambesicus Müll.-Arg., collected from Agbara-Lagos, Nigeria, was analysed by means of Gas chromatography flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and Gas chromatography coupled with Mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Sixty constituents accounting for 98.9% of the total oil contents were identified from the oil sample. The classes of compounds identified in the oil were monoterpene hydrocarbons (35.3%), oxygenated monoterpenes (22.9%), sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (32.4%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (5.6%). The oil was dominated by β-pinene (15.1%), β-caryophyllene (12.6%), germacrene D (10.9%), camphor (7.3%), linalool (7.0%), sabinene (6.4%) and α-pinene (5.2%). Aims: The aim of the research is to investigate the volatile constituents from C. zambesicus harvested in Lagos, Nigeria. Study Design: Extraction of essential oil from the air-dried leaf samples of C. zambesicus and investigation of its chemical constituents. Place and Duration of Study: Leaf samples of C. zambesicus were collected from Agbara, Lagos, on April 2011. Methodology: Air-dried and pulverized leaves were hydrodistilled in a Clevenger-type apparatus to obtained pale yellow volatile oil whose chemical constituents was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Results: A total of sixty compounds were identified, amounting to 98.9%of the total oil contents. The major were compounds β-pinene (15.1%), β-caryophyllene (12.6%), germacrene D (10.9%) and camphor (7.3%). Variations in compositional pattern were observed between this result and the previous studies. Conclusion: The literature about the C. zambesicus indicates a high variability in the chemical composition of the essential oils.