Investigations of the antipyretic effect and safety of Prasachandaeng, a traditional remedy from Thailand national list of essential medicines

Abstract

Prasachandaeng (PSD) remedy from the Thailand National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) has been used as an antipyretic for chronic fever in both adults and children for centuries. Its therapeutic effect in treating fever and its safety have not been studied in animal models. We evaluated its antipyretic activity on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced fever and safety in the liver in comparison with acetaminophen (ACP). Correlation between biochemistry of liver function and the level of cytochrome P450 (CYP2E1) was also evaluated using an ELISA kit. All doses of PSD powder (PSDP) and a 95% ethanol extract of PSD (PSDE) (50, 200, and 400 mg/kg) showed a significant antipyretic effect (* p < 0.05) as compared to ACP. We investigated clinical biochemistry of liver and kidney functions, histopathology, and concentrations of CYP2E1. All treatment groups demonstrated a normal range of clinical biochemistry of liver and kidney functions in comparison with ACP on days 1, 3, 7, and 10. Serum AST, ALP, and LDH levels of PSDE and PSDP showed mean values less than that of ACP on the corresponding days (* p < 0.05). None of the treatment groups showed evidence of hepatocellular damage, nor did they affect CYPE21. The results of histopathology on liver tissue correlated with the biochemistry of liver functions which indicated no hepatotoxicity effect in liver tissue during the seven day treatment. These findings suggest that both forms of PSD remedy possessed marked antipyretic activity and were not hepatotoxic during the seven days of administration in rats.