ABSTRACT
Actaea spicata Linn. (Ranunculaceae) has been traditionally used for the treatment of various ailments such as rheumatism, inflammation, nerve diseases, lumbago, scrofula and chorea, but no systematic phytochemical and pharmacological work has ever been carried out on this potential plant. Preliminary phytochemical screening showed presence of phenols and flavonoids in A. spicata. Thus, the present investigation was undertaken to estimate total phenols and flavonoids in methanol extract of A. spicata roots, and its ethyl acetate fraction. In vitro antioxidant activity was also evaluated in the methanol extract and ethyl acetate fraction using DPPH method. Ethyl acetate fraction was found to contain twice the content of flavonoids and phenols in comparison to methanolic extract, whereas phenolic content in methanol extract was approximately similar to ethyl acetate fraction. A significant antioxidant activity, i.e., mean percentage inhibition of DPPH radical was observed in methanol extract and ethyl acetate fraction at the concentration of 10 µg/ml and 5 µg/ml respectively. Finally, it was suggested that polyphenols are responsible for antioxidant activity of A. spicata.
ABSTRACT
In the present investigation, pharmacological evaluation of apigenin, a bioactive principle of Turnera aphrodisiaca Ward (Turneraceae) was carried out. Apigenin was evaluated for antianxiety activity at a dose of 2 mg/kg using well established models of anxiety, the hole board test, light/dark test and mirrored chamber test. Apigenin significantly increased head dipping in hole board test. Further, apigenin increased latency to leave light zone and the time spent in light compartment of light/dark model of anxiety. Apigenin also decreased the latency time to enter the mirrored chamber, and increased the total time spent/number of entries in the mirrored chamber with respect to control. All these observations confirmed the anxiolytic activity of apigenin. At a higher dose (about 12 fold the anxiolytic dose), apigenin showed mild sedative activity in actophotometer as it decreased activity scores. It (2, 5 or 10 mg/kg) was found to be devoid of anticonvulsant, antidepressant and antistress activity in MES-induced convulsion test, despair swim test and cold swimming endurance test, respectively. In tail immersion test for six hours, apigenin exhibited excellent dose dependent analgesic activity, which was comparable to that of morphine sulphate (5 mg/kg). Maximum activity was observed 30 min after the administration of 10 mg/kg dose of apigenin.
ABSTRACT
An HPTLC densitometric method has been developed to estimate apigenin in Turnera aphrodisiaca aerial and its segregated parts (leaves, stems, flowers and fruits) so that plant can be standardized on the basis of its bioactive marker. The apigenin content in methanol extract of T. aphrodisiaca aerial parts was found to be about fourteen times less than acid hydrolyzed methanol extract of the plant indicating the presence of most of apigenin in glycosidic form. Amongst different plant parts, flowers possessed maximum content of apigenin followed by leaves. The apigenin content was also determined in three marketed formulations of T. aphrodisiaca viz., NLK, DWSG and SBL. DWSG contained higher content of apigenin. Aerial parts of the plant were collected at bimonthly intervals over a period of one year in the months of January, March, May, July, September and November. The plant material collected in September showed maximum content of apigenin.
