ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANALGESIC POTENTIALS OF THE ROOT BARK EXTRACT OF SABA COMORENSIS (BOJER) PICHON (APOCYNACEAE) USED IN NIGERIAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2020-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nigerian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Abstract
Painful and inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, backache, headaches, asthma and peptic ulcer disease are
widespread and highly prevalent. The existing drugs for these conditions are liable to sub-optimal efficacy,
intolerable adverse effects, prohibitive costs or limited availability. This scenario calls for renewed search for
additional anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents. Hence, in line with the Traditional uses of plants, this study
investigated the ethanol extract of Saba comorensis (Bojer ex. A.DC.) Pichon, for its safety, anti-inflammatory
and analgesic effects in rodents using standard experimental protocols. The LD50 (i.p.) for the ethanol extract
obtained from the geometric mean of doses was 770 mg/kg. Compared with the negative controls, the ethanol
extract exhibited significant (p<0.05) and dose-dependent anti-inflammatory, ulcerogenic and dose-independent
analgesic effects, while the petroleum extract did not induce any significant ulcerogenic effects. These findings
suggest Saba comorensis ethanol root extract may be relatively safe and possesses anti-inflammatory and
analgesic properties and may justify its use as traditional remedy for painful and inflammatory conditions. There
is the need to investigate the study plant further for anti-inflammatory and analgesic drug discovery
Description
Keywords
Ethnomedicine, inflammation, gastric ulcers, nociception, Rodents