Anti- Inflammatory and Diuretic Activities of Ethanolic Extracts Of Smilax anceps Wild

Abstract

The anti- inflammatory and diuretic activities of ethanolic extracts of Smilax anceps Wild was studied. Leaves of the plant were collected from the premises of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike Umuahia. The leaves were sun-dried for eight days, ground and macerated in 300ml of ethanol and left to stand for 24 hours. The solution was thereafter filtered using No 1 Whatman filter paper and allowed to evaporate to dryness, to obtain the extract used for the study. Twenty adult rats were used for this investigation. They were allowed to acclimatize to the environment for two weeks. The extracts were administered to the rats at doses of 125, 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg body weight. The administration was by intra-peritoneal during the diuretic test and orally during anti-inflammatory test. For the anti-inflammatory test, aspirin was used as positive control and normal saline as negative control. In the diuretic test, four standard drugs (Furosemide, Hydrochlorothiazide, Spironolacetone and Acetazolamide) and normal saline served as control. The results obtained indicate that the plant extracts significantly (P<0.05) inhibited the inflammation of the hind paws of the rats showing that the extracts had an anti-inflammatory effect. The rate of inhibition increased with increase in the concentration of the extracts. The plant extracts also significantly (P<0.05) increased the volume of urine produced by the rats, indicating that the leaves had diuretic effect. Higher volumes of urine were produced as the concentration of the extracts increased. The results obtained showed that ethanolic leaf extracts of Smilax anceps have potential anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties, hence could be utilized in the treatment of inflammation and diuretic problems.