Abstract
BackgroundAlstonia scholaris commonly known as ‘Saptaparni’ is an Indian traditional medicinal plant used in Ayurveda. It is commonly used to treat various disorders like asthma, bronchitis, diarrhea, dysentery and malaria. In folklore medicine the milky juice of the plant is applied on wounds and ulcers to treat pain, ear ache and also in rheumatic pains.AimThe present study was designed to investigate the potential of A. scholaris R. Br. in chronic constriction injury of sciatic nerve (CCI) induced neuropathic pain in rats.MethodsPeripheral neuropathy was induced by chronic constriction injury of sciatic nerve. The behavioral parameters like mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia and cold allodynia were assessed on the 14th day. Tissue parameters like total protein, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, reduced glutathione, myeloperoxidase, total calcium and TNF-α were assessed to check biochemical changes. Chloroform and methanol extract of A. scholaris leaves (100 and 200 mg/kg) and pregabalin (10 mg/kg, as positive control) were administered orally for 14 consecutive days starting from the day of surgery.ResultsCCI resulted in significant development of mechanical hyperalgesia, heat hyperalgesia and cold allodynia along with alteration in the biochemical changes. Administration of methanol extract at 200 mg/kg significantly attenuated the CCI induced change in nociceptive threshold and biochemical changes which was comparable to that of pregabalin. The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of the bioactive methanol extract revealed the presence of different types of flavonoids such as gallic acid, catechin, epicatechin, ellagic acid and kaempferol, in which kaempferol was observed to be in higher concentration.ConclusionMethanol extract (200 mg/kg) of A. scholaris showed the ameliorative effect in CCI induced neuropathic pain which may be due to the presence of kaempferol and attributed to its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties.
Highlights
Alstonia scholaris commonly known as ‘Saptaparni’ is an Indian traditional medicinal plant used in Ayurveda
The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of the bioactive methanol extract revealed the presence of different types of flavonoids such as gallic acid, catechin, epicatechin, ellagic acid and kaempferol, in which kaempferol was observed to be in higher concentration
Methanol extract (200 mg/kg) of A. scholaris showed the ameliorative effect in constriction injury of sciatic nerve (CCI) induced neuropathic pain which may be due to the presence of kaempferol and attributed to its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties
Summary
Alstonia scholaris commonly known as ‘Saptaparni’ is an Indian traditional medicinal plant used in Ayurveda. In folklore medicine the milky juice of the plant is applied on wounds and ulcers to treat pain, ear ache and in rheumatic pains. The milky juice of plant is applied on injuries and ulcers to treat pain including rheumatic pains [7]. The plant afforded protection in various models of algesia and inflammation, including, acetic acid-induced writhing, formalin test and air pouch model in rodents [8]. Most of these pharmacotherapeutic effects of A. scholaris have been attributed to the presence of various phytoconstituents such as alkaloids, coumarins, iridoids, flavonoids, leucoanthocyanines, steroids, tannins, phenolics and saponins [9]. The plant A. scholaris was evaluated against neuropathic pain using rat model
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