Analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and GC-MS studies on Castanospermum australe A. Cunn. & C. Fraser ex Hook

ScientificWorldJournal. 2014 Feb 2:2014:587807. doi: 10.1155/2014/587807. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

The present study was aimed to evaluate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of Castanospermum australe and to profile phytochemicals by GC-MS. The ethanolic extracts were prepared by successive solvent extraction using Soxhlet apparatus. The analgesic activity was analyzed by hot plate method and acetic acid-induced writhing test whereas anti-inflammatory study was done by carrageenan induced paw oedema model. The acute toxicity study revealed that ethanol extracts of leaf and bark of C. australe were safe even at a higher dose of 2000 mg/kg whereas ethanol extract of seed was toxic at the same dose. In both hot plate method (5.85 s) and acetic acid-induced writhing test (57%), the leaf ethanol extract exhibited significant analgesic activity (P < 0.001) at a dose of 400 mg/kg. The anti-inflammatory activity of leaf extract was exhibited by the reduction in paw linear diameter by 64.76% at 400 mg/kg in carrageenan induced paw oedema. The GC-MS analysis of the ethanol extract of leaf revealed sixteen major compounds of which 1,7-dimethyl-4,10-dioxa-1,7-diazacyclododecane, (+)-N-methylephedrine, and permethylspermine were found to be pharmaceutically and the most important. These findings justify that C. australe can be a valuable natural analgesic and anti-inflammatory source which seemed to provide potential phytotherapeutics against various ailments.

MeSH terms

  • Analgesics / chemistry*
  • Analgesics / isolation & purification
  • Analgesics / pharmacology
  • Animals
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / chemistry*
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / isolation & purification
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / pharmacology
  • Castanospermum / chemistry*
  • Female
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / methods*
  • Mice
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry*
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology
  • Toxicity Tests

Substances

  • Analgesics
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents
  • Plant Extracts