Assessment of Cardio-protective activity of Barleria cristata Linn. using Daphnia magna as model

Abstract

Barleria cristata Linn. belongs to the family Acanthaceae, commonly known as Phillipine Violet. It has been traditionally used in the treatment of diseases including anaemia, toothache, respiratory disorders, skin diseases and cardio-vascular disorders. The aim of this study was intended to evaluate the in vivo cardio-protective activity of ethanolic extract of the leaves of Barleria cristata Linn. using Daphnia magna as the model. Pharmacognostical characters viz., macroscopy, microscopy, linear measurements, physicochemical constants, loss on drying, fluorescence analysis, determination of heavy metals and phytochemical studies were performed for the leaves of Barleria cristata. Acute toxicity study was performed as per OECD guidelines 202 which revealed that no significant mortality was observed up to 6µg/ml of ethanolic extracts of leaves of Barleria cristata Linn. The ethanolic extract of Barleria cristata with a dose of 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100µg/ml were tested on lactose induced arrhythmia of Daphnia magna and compared with standard metoprolol. The cardio protective activity of ethanolic extracts of Barleria cristata Linn. were observed separately in the Daphnia magna of control, lactose induced, treated with metoprolol and ethanolic extract groups. The results showed that the ethanolic extract of the plant has dose dependent cardio-protective activity on Daphnia magna. Pharmacognostical characters of Barleria cristata are used to identify and standardize the plant and there was no heavy metal toxicity was observed from the leaves of Barleria cristata Linn.