Anti-inflammatory and histopathological studies of leaves extracts of Croton bonplandianus in Albino rats.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are frequently used for the treatment and prevention of inflammation with the increase in number of side effects. Traditional plants have been used to treat inflammation owing to lesser adverse responses. Croton bonplandianus being an anti-inflammatory plant is extensively utilized all over the world. The methanolic and aqueous leaves extracts of Croton bonplandianus were exposed to anti-inflammatory activity in the carrageenan induced paw edema against standard diclofenac sodium, followed by the histopathlogical examination. The highest dose of methanolic extract were shown significant anti-inflammatory action having a significant P-value (P<0.05-0.001) compared with the diclofenac sodium (P<0.01-0.001) and aqueous extracts (P<0.5-0.01). The histopathological examination illustrated the vasodialation with reduction in the intensity of edema, neutrophils infiltration and other inflammatory cells. C. bonplandianus being a reactive oxygen species scavenger, responsible to exert an excellent anti-inflammatory activity. The present study confirmed the anti-inflammatory potential of drug extracts and authors recommended its utilization in the treatment of pain, inflammation and relevant diseases in future. However, phytochemical screening is to be required for the complete evaluation of active chemical constituent (s).

Authentication of various commercially available crude drugs using different quality control testing parameters.

The object of this study is to investigate the quality of various plant materials used in the preparation of herbal formulations using different methods of standardization to confirm their purity, safety and efficacy. However, it is uncertain whether these raw materials comply with the standards prescribed in the pharmacopeias. In the present study six raw materials' i.e. Foeniculum vulgarae, Curcuma longa, Aloe barbadensis, Plantago ovata, Zingiber officinale and Glycyrrhiza glabra have been obtained from the market and various quality control tests including microscopic evaluation, physico-chemical characteristics, thin layer chromatography (TLC), spectrophotometric assay (British Pharmacopoeia) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) have been performed to determine their compliance with the standards. The TLC has been used for the identification of the active ingredients on comparison of their Rf values with the reference standard. FTIR Spectra of these materials have been obtained to assign the functional groups present in the components of a particular material. Although these findings provide a significant data to herbal drug manufacturers for authentication of commercially available plant materials used in various herbal formulation.

Effects of aqueous leaves extract of Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb) Planch on liver and kidney histopathology of albino rats.

Histopathological studies are an essential element to ascertain comprehensive safety profile of a drug. Unfortunately limited data are available about the toxicity of herbal remedies. Since a popular medicinal plant Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb) Planch. contains various bioactive molecules, the present study is aimed to assess the histopathological alterations induced by aqueous extract of Holoptelea integrifolia on liver and kidney of wistar albino rat. In this study 60 rats divided in two groups; control and treated with aqueous extract of Holoptelea integrifolia (250mg/kg body weight) for 5 days. Histopathlogical studies by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining were done on the liver and kidney tissues at the end of dosing by using standard procedure. Microscopic examination was then carried out to observe any pathological changes in the animals. The result showed that there is no significant variation in the basic architecture of liver and kidney as compared to control male wistar albino rats. In conclusion, aqueous extract of leaves of H. integrifolia may be safe and nontoxic. Further work on pharmacological aspects is required to evaluate the clinical potential of this plant for different ailments.

Histopathologic changes in liver and kidney of male sprague dawley rats treated with extract of Cardiospermum halicacabum L.

In traditional medicine Cardiospermum halicacabum L. (Sapindeaceae) is used against various ailments such as rheumatism, nervous diseases, stiffness of the limbs and snakebite. Leaves are crushed and made into a tea, which aids itchy skin. Salted leaves are used as a poultice on swellings. Young leaves can be cooked and used as vegetables. The leaf juice has been used as a treatment for earache as well. In this study we evaluate acute toxicity (10, 50, 100 and 500 mg/kg) and pathologic changes in esophagus, stomach, liver and kidney tissues with a magnifying glass and microscope in a row to mark changes to both morphological and histological in comparison to control with the treatment of ethyl acetate extract (dose of 40mg/kg) in male Sprague Dawley rats. The rats were divided into 4 groups consisting of 3 rats per group for acute toxicity and histopathological change. In conclusion, no lethality was observed in acute toxicity study for 7 days. The treatment of ethyl acetate extracts at 40 mg/kg did not show lethal toxicological changes as observed by histopathological examination in the kidney and liver tissues.

Analgesic activity of various extracts of Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.) Planch leaves.

The various extracts of leaves Holoptelea integrifolia (Ulmaceae) were investigated for analgesic activity in mice by tail flick method. The fresh plant leaves of H. integrifolia were collected, dried, cleaned, weighed and chopped into small pieces and percolated in ethanol. The fractionation of crude extract, followed by the addition of distilled water, ethyl acetate and n-butanol to an aqueous portion of each solvent, to obtain the dried masses of each four layers. Qualitative chemical examination indicates the presence of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavones, phenol, steroids, tannins and triterpenoids. No acute oral toxicity was observed and extracts considered being safe at the dose of 50-2000 mg/kg body weight. At the dose of 500 mg/kg various extracts of leaves of H. integrifolia were found statistically significant (P<0.05). A maximum effect was established at 150 min, after drug administration. Diclofenace sodium used as a standard.