Comparative study of membrane-stabilizing activities of kolaviron Dryopteris filix-mas and Ocimum gratissimum extracts

Abstract

Background Diseases associated with inflammation have been one of the major concerns in medicine. Some anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin have been found to exert side effects on the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, it is necessary to seek new chemotherapy agents from plant sources with little or no side effects that are capable of preventing inflammation-related disorders. Aim This study aims to investigate the effects of methanol extracts, aqueous and chloroform fractions of Dryopteris filix-mas (DF), Ocimum gratissimum (OG) leaves and kolaviron on membrane stabilization; acetyl salicylic acid was used as a reference drug. Materials and methods Whole blood of rats weighing 150–200 g was assessed using hypotonic solution-induced haemolysis of albino rats, which was determined spectrophotometrically. Results Of the three extracts, kolaviron showed the highest haemolysis inhibition capacity (49.6, 56 and 66.56%) in a concentration-dependent manner (2, 4 and 6 mg/ml, respectively) compared with acetyl salicylic acid, with a haemolysis inhibition capacity of 61.45, 67.22 and 70% in the order of increasing concentrations. This was followed by the aqueous fraction of OG leaves at 6 mg/ml, with percentage haemolysis inhibition of 61.1%, whereas the aqueous fraction of DF was 56.49% at 6 mg/ml. Conclusion The above result suggested that kolaviron, aqueous fractions of OG and DF could serve as excellent alternative anti-inflammatory therapy agents.