The anti‐oxidant, anti‐inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of the methanol leaf extract of Moringa oleifera in some laboratory animals (657.19)

Abstract

Moringa oleifera is an annual herbal shrub which has been used in traditional medicine in Nigeria to treat some disease conditions. This study evaluated the methanol leaf extract (MLE) of the plant for pharmacological activities in rats and mice to validate its folkloric use in Nigeria.MLE was prepared by dissolving ground plant materials (200g) in methanol for 48 h, filtered, dried and thereafter used for pharmacological investigations. Standard phytochemical methods were used to test for the presence of phytoactive compounds in the plant. Anti‐oxidant activities of the plant were assessed using ABTS, DPPH, FRAP and total phenolics test. The anti‐inflammatory activities were conducted using carrageenan and histamine‐induced tests while antinociceptive activities were carried out using writhes and formalin licking tests.Acute toxicity test showed that no animals died at the doses even at 1600mg/kg dose. The extract at 50, 100 and 200mg/kg body weight caused a significant reduction in the anti‐inflammatory and analgesic activities though not in the same magnitude as indomethacin, the reference drug used in this study. In the case of anti‐oxidant activities, the extract at 20mg caused 86.0% ABTS inhibitory activity; 49.0% DPPH inhibitory activity; 82.7µmol/L ascorbic acid equivalent for FRAP and 17.2µmol/L gallic acid equivalent for total phenolics.The results from this study may have validated the traditional basis for the use of Moringa oleifera as medicinal agent. The pharmacological activities noted in this study may be attributed to the presence of flavonoids and other phenolics contained in this plant.