Antipleuritic and Vascular Permeability Inhibition of the Ethyl Acetate-Petroleum Ether Stem Bark Extract of Maerua angolensis DC (Capparaceae) in Murine.

Felix Agyei Ampadu,Newman Osafo,Edmund Ekuadzi,Eric Woode,Eric Boakye-Gyasi,Charles Kwaku Benneh

doi:10.1155/2018/6123094

Abstract

Maerua angolensis has been used traditionally in the management of pain, arthritis, and rheumatism in Ghana and Nigeria but no scientific evidence is currently available to give credence to its folkloric use. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of a stem bark extract of Maerua angolensis DC (MAE) in acute inflammatory models. The effects of MAE (30-300 mg kg−1) on neutrophil infiltration, exudate volume, and endogenous antioxidant enzymes in lung tissues and lung morphology were evaluated with the carrageenan induced pleurisy model in Sprague Dawley rats. The effects of MAE (30-300 mg kg−1) on vascular permeability were also evaluated in the acetic acid induced vascular permeability in ICR mice. MAE significantly reduced neutrophil infiltration, exudate volume, and lung tissue damage in carrageenan induced pleurisy. MAE increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase in lung tissues. The extract was also able to reduce myeloperoxidase activity and lipid peroxidation in lung tissues in carrageenan induced rat pleurisy. Vascular permeability was also attenuated by the extract with marked reduction of Evans blue dye leakage in acetic acid induced permeability assay. The results indicated that Maerua angolensis is effective in ameliorating inflammation induced by carrageenan and acetic acid. It also has the potential of increasing the activity of endogenous antioxidant enzymes.

Highlights

Inflammation is a defensive response to injury to curb further damage and to initiate tissue repair [1]
Maerua angolensis has a long history of use in traditional medicine to manage various conditions such as psychosis, epilepsy, pain, gout, diabetes, peptic ulcer, International Journal of Inflammation diarrhea, and arthritis in Nigeria and other West African countries [5, 6]
Maerua angolensis DC (MAE) (300 mg kg−1) significantly inhibited the inflammatory response decreasing of exudate formation (F7,20=10.84, P

Summary

Introduction

Inflammation is a defensive response to injury to curb further damage and to initiate tissue repair [1]. It is currently understood that inflammation is part of the nonspecific immune response that occurs in reaction to any type of cellular injury which may be mechanical (e.g., contusion or abrasion), chemical (e.g., toxins, acid, and alkaline), physical (e.g., extreme heat or cold), microbes (e.g., bacteria, virus, and parasites), necrotic tissue, oxidative stress, and/or immunological reactions. Inflammation is self-limiting but in some disease states there is persistent injury and further cell damage which leads to chronic inflammatory disorders [2, 3]. Maerua angolensis has a long history of use in traditional medicine to manage various conditions such as psychosis, epilepsy, pain, gout, diabetes, peptic ulcer, International Journal of Inflammation diarrhea, and arthritis in Nigeria and other West African countries [5, 6]. It is prudent to conduct further studies into medicinal plants to obtain new data on indications and safety profile

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