Abstract
Borreria verticillata L is used for the treatment of some painful and inflammatory conditions by traditional medical practitioners in Nigeria and other countries. The ethanol leaf extract of B. verticillata (EEBV) was investigated for possible analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects in mice and rats. The models used for the analgesic study were acetic acid induced abdominal writhes, hot plate tests in mice and formalin induced pain in rats. Carrageenan and formalin induced rat paw oedema were used to investigate anti-inflammatory effects. The oral (p.o) median lethal dose (LD50) was greater than 5000 mg/kg body weight in mice and rats, while the intraperitoneal (i.p) LD50 in mice was 3807.88 mg/kg and greater than 5000 mg/kg in rats. The results of the study showed that the extract to have significant (p<0.001) analgesic effect at dose range of 200 to 1000 mg/kg p.o/i.p in mice in the acetic acid induced writhes and hot plate tests. Significant (p<0.05) analgesic effect was observed at 500 and 1000 mg/kg p.o in both phases of formalin induced pain in rats. EEBV exhibited anti-inflammatory effects which were found to be significant (p<0.001, p<0.05) at doses of 200 to 1000 mg/kg p.o/i.p in the rats and in all models used. Key words: Borreria verticillata, analgesic, anti-inflammatory.
Highlights
The use of medicinal plants for the relief and treatment of disease can be traced back to five millennia in various civilizations
The first group served as negative control and received normal saline of 10 ml/kg, while groups 2, 3 and 4 received different doses of the Median lethal dose (LD50)
The preliminary phytochemical screening of B. verticillata showed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, steroids, glycosides, flavonoids, tannins and phenols
Summary
The use of medicinal plants for the relief and treatment of disease can be traced back to five millennia in various civilizations. Medicinal plants have played a vital role in world health (Calixto 2000; Calixto et al, 2000a). Despite the recent developments recorded in modern medicine, medicinal plants still make important contributions to health care (Calixto, 2000). In some African countries such as Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Zambia, the first line of treatment for fevers resulting from malaria in about 60% of children, is the use of herbal medicines (WHO, 2003). Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience, associated with actual or potential tissue damage (IASP). Most people will experience pain at some time in their lives, because pain is a symptom that accompanies many
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