Anti-inflammatory, Antinociceptive, and Neuropharmacological Activities of Clerodendron viscosum.

Abstract

The crude methanol extract of Clerodendron viscosum. Vent. (Verbenaceae) leaves was evaluated for its anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and neuropharmacological activities. When given orally to rats at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg of body weight, the extract showed a significant (p < 0.001) anti-inflammatory activity against carrageenan-induced rat paw edema comparable with the standard drug phenylbutazone at the dose of 100 mg/kg of body weight. It also produced a significant writhing inhibition in acetic acid–induced writhing in mice at the oral dose of 250 and 500 mg/kg of body weight (p < 0.001), which was comparable with the standard drug diclofenac sodium at the dose of 25 mg/kg of body weight. Moreover, when given intraperitoneally to albino mice, it potentiated the pentobarbital-induced sleeping time (p < 0.001), decreased the open field score in open field test (p < 0.001), decreased the number of holes crossed from one chamber to the other in the hole-cross test (p < 0.001), and decreased the head dip responses in the hole-board test (p < 0.001) at the dose of 250 and 500 mg/kg of body weight. The overall results tend to suggest the anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and central nervous system depressant activities of the crude methanol extract of Clerodendron viscosum..