Abstract
BackgroundInflammation and pain underlies several pathological conditions. Synthetic drugs used for the management of these conditions carry severe toxic effects. Globally efforts are ongoing to introduce novel medicinal plants to develop effective, economic and innocuous drugs. The current study was aimed at investigating the antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity of methanol extract of A. hydaspica aerial parts (AHM) and its active fraction. Furthermore identification and isolation of polyphenolic compounds was carried out to identify the active principles.MethodsYeast induced pyrexia, Paw edema, acetic acid-induced writhing and hot plate test were carried out in vivo. HPLC-DAD analysis and combination of different chromatographic techniques, involving vacuum liquid chromatography (VLC) and flash chromatography (FC) were carried out for chemical characterization. The structural heterogeneity of flavanols was characterized by ESI- MS, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and 2D NMR spectroscopic analyses, and also by comparison with reported literature.ResultsOral administration of A. hydaspica methanol extract (AHM) and A. hydaspica ethyl acetate fraction (AHE), showed dose and time dependent decrease in body temperature in yeast induced pyrexia, comparable to standard, Paracetamol. AHM and AHE (150 mg/kg) significantly (p < 0.001) inhibit pain sensation in various pain models, i.e. acetic acid induced writhing and hot plate test. Similarly AHM and AHE demonstrated an anti-inflammatory effect in carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats and 150 mg/kg dose being distinctly more effective (91.92% inhibition). When studied on prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) induced edema in rats, AHM and AHE showed maximum inhibition of edema at 150 mg/kg after 4 h. HPLC chromatogram of AHM revealed the presence of gallic acid, catechin, rutin and caffeic acid. Chromatographic separation and structure characterization of AHE, has led to the identification of three flavan-3-ol derivative including 7-O-galloyl catechin, +catechin and methyl gallate, which have been reported for the first time in A. hydaspica.ConclusionThese results revealed that the presence of bioactive compounds in A. hydaspica might be responsible for the pharmacological activities, confirming the indigenous utility of A. hydaspica against inflammatory disorders.
Highlights
Inflammation and pain underlies several pathological conditions
These results revealed that the presence of bioactive compounds in A. hydaspica might be responsible for the pharmacological activities, confirming the indigenous utility of A. hydaspica against inflammatory disorders
The extract was filtered through filter paper (Whatman filter paper number 45), and concentrated under vacuum using a rotary evaporator (Buchi, R114, Switzerland) at 40°C and 472 g of A. hydaspica crude methanol extract (AHM, 15.73%) was obtained
Summary
Synthetic drugs used for the management of these conditions carry severe toxic effects. Efforts are ongoing to introduce novel medicinal plants to develop effective, economic and innocuous drugs. For centuries people of developing countries like Pakistan, India and China, rely on traditional medicinal system for the cure of various ailments as substitute health care services due to safety and cost-effectiveness of herbal medications. In different regions of Pakistan local practice of medicinal plants for curing number of diseases is very common. Local practice of plants is unrestricted in developing countries, but it is obligatory to ascertain the pharmaceutically vital agents responsible for protection against fatal diseases. Developed world is inclined towards complementary and alternative medicines, derived from natural source. It is anticipated that about one quarter of approved modern medicines has been derived from botanicals [2]
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