Extraction and Evaluation of Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic Activity of Mimosa rubicaulis in Swiss Albino Rats

Abstract

Background: Pain and inflammation are major health problems. The adverse effect of synthetic drugs for the management of painful inflammatory conditions gives a strong motivation for researchers to develop newer drugs with lesser side effects. Mimosa rubicaulis has been traditionally used in rheumatism, fungal infection, wound, fever, etc. Objective: The objective was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity of ethanolic stem extract of M. rubicaulis in Swiss albino rats. Methods: The stem of M. rubicaulis was collected, subjected to double maceration using ethanol as a solvent. Then, Swiss albino rats (n=72) were taken. An acute toxicity study was conducted using different doses of the plant extract. The anti-inflammatory activity (100 mg/kg, 250 mg/kg) was evaluated using the carrageenan-induced paw edema test, while, analgesic activity (100 mg/kg, 250 mg/kg) was evaluated using a hot plate and tail immersion method. The result was analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance and post hoc analysis with the Tukey test. Results: The acute toxicity study showed that the plant is safe for use in an animal model. The extract showed anti-inflammatory activity by a reduction in paw edema volume by 25% and 48%. Similarly, analgesic activity was shown by an increase in latency of paw licking and tail withdrawal by 41%, and 56% (hot plate method) and 39% and 54% (Tail immersion method), p<0.05. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the ethanolic extract of Mimosa rubicaulis is safe and possesses both anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity.