Anti-inflammatory Activity of the Aqueous Leaf Extract and n-Butanol Fraction of Croton zambesicus Muell Arg.
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Date
2022
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Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin.
Abstract
Croton zambesicus Muell Arg. (Euphorbiaceace) is a plant indigenous to West Africa and has been
found to be useful in management of chronic diseases including; hypertension diabetes mellitus
and gastric ulcer. These diseases are deeply rooted in inflammation, the WHO has advocated for
evaluation of herbal medicines with ameliorative potentials to promote the use of effective ones
and discourage the use of toxic ethno medicines. Hence, the anti-inflammatory activity of aqueous
extract and n-butanol fraction of Croton zambesicus were evaluated. The total phenolics and
flavonoids, vitamin A, C and E content were determined using spectrophotometric analysis.
Inflammation was achieved using carrageenan-induced hind paw edema model in rats. The total
phenolic and flavonoid contents were 0.392 mg/g gallic acid equivalent and 0.149 mg/g quercetin
equivalent respectively. The vitamin A, C and E concentration were found to be 0.13, 5.9 and 0.02
mg in 100 g of dried plant material, respectively. Administration of carrageenan significantly
(p˂0.05) increased the hind paw sizes of the animals and the administration of both extracts
significantly (p˂0.05) reduced hind paw edema in a non-dose dependent manner. At 180 minutes
after the induction of inflammation, aqueous extract (100 mg/kg) and n-butanol fraction (5 mg/kg)
of Croton zambesicus showed 70.53% and 57.89% inhibition of the hind paw edema. The result
is comparable to the effect of diclofenac at 180 minutes with 73.68% inhibition. Results from this
study shows the aqueous leaf extract of Croton zambesicus and n-butanol fraction has anti inflammatory activity. This may be attributed to the presence of phenolic, flavonoid and
antioxidant compounds present in the leaf extract.
Description
Keywords
Anti-inflammatory, Aqueous, n-butanol, Carrageenan, Croton zambesicus, flavonoids Phenolics