The search for plant drugs for the treatment of various ailments has been a major preoccupation of man since the stone age.This study is designed to evaluate the effects of the ethanolic leaf extract on the central and peripheral nervous systems. The central action was determined as the effects of the leaf extract on pentobarbitone sleep, its anticonvulsant activities, its analgesic and it muscle relaxant activities using various experimental animals. The peripheral action was determined by the local anaesthetic activity. The results show that the ethanol leaf extract had intraperitoneal LD50 > 2150mg/Kg b.w. and an oral LD50 of >5000mg/Kg b.w. which indicates that the extract is relatively safe according to the literature. The extract at concentration of 50 and 100mg/ml produced 61.1 and 72.2% local anesthesia compared with xylocaine (0.3 and 1mg/ml) which exerted 58.3 and 66.6%. The analgesic effect of the leaf extract was evaluated with acetic acid induced writhing and nociception with heat. It was observed that the extract conferred 34.5 and 53.75% protection from writhes induced by acetic acid on mice. Similarly there was a significant (p<0.5) dose dependent protection conferred on mice when pain was induced by heat. In the muscle relaxation evaluation the leaf extract showed also dose dependent muscle relaxant properties on the inclined board. The ethanol extract significantly increased the sleeping time of pentobarbitone dose dependently in rats. In the anticonvulsant using pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), the extract was able to confer protection to rats treated with convulsive dose of PTZ. Thus the ethanol leaf extract of Terminalia avicennoides was able to produce substantial depressant effects on both the peripheral and central nervous system. These are seen in its potentiation of barbiturate sleep, induced local anesthesia, analgesia, and anticonvulsant and muscle relaxant activities. Therefore the ethanol leaf extract of this plant could be a good source of chemotherapeutic agent(s).
This study was carried out to determine the chemical contents of leaf of Terminalia avicennioides Guill and Perr, of the family; Combretataceae. Air dried grounded leave was subjected to analysis using atomic absorption spectrophotometer and UV direct reading spectrophotometer for the presence of macro-elements (Mg, Na) and micro-elements (Fe, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr, Cd, Pb) and anions (nitrate, phosphate, sulphate). The result revealed higher concentration of Na (292.00 μg/g) while Mg (3.62 μg/g) lie within the recommendation and Fe (0.20 μg/g), Cu (0.19 μg/g), Zn (0.15 μg/g), Ni (8.50 μg/g), Cr (0.20 μg/g), Cd (0.39 μg/g) were detected in low concentrations as recommendation by WHO and Pb was not detected. Sulphate was the highest (25.00 μg/g) followed by Phosphate (0.85 μg/g) among the anions studied. The air dried powdered leaves of Terminalia avicennioides (1 Kg) was soxhlet extracted using solvents; n-hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol and water, the extract were filtered and concentrated yielding 3.95 % w/w, 8.31 % w/w, 13.81 % w/w and 4.05 % w/w respectively. The result of the qualitative phytochemical analysis of these extracts revealed the presence of carbohydrates, tannins, glycoside, terpenoids, cardenolide, saponin, flavonoid and aloes.
The present study was targeted to investigate the phytochemical compounds from crude methanolic leaf extract of Achyranthus bidentata and larvicidal activity against 4th instar larvae of Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi. Larvicidal activity of the methanol crude extracts was determined by topical application to early 4th instar larvae and lethality was estimated by applying various concentrations (50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 ppm) of the crude extract. The methanol extract of A. bidentata was subjected to preliminary screening of phytochemicals using standard procedure. Screening of phytochemicals revealed the presence of flavonoid, phenol, tannins, triterpenoids, saponins, alkaloids, and carbohydrates listed in Table 1. The early 4th instar larvae of A. bidentata more susceptible to the methanol extracts with LC50 value of 110.68 ppm and 330.09 respectively. The LC90 value of methanol extract was 123.37 ppm and 369.42 ppm against 4th instar larvae of A. stephenesi. Methanol extracts showed a significant activity against 4th instar larvae of A. aegypti.
ABSTRACT Traditional medicines are used by about 60% of the world’s population. It has prompted man to explore his immediate natural surroundings and try many plants to develop a variety of therapeutic agents. The herbal drug market itself is growing at a rate of 20-30% annually. The growth rate of this in the global market is encouraging for the manufacturers to produce more pure herbal drugs. Bryonopsis laciniosa is one such herbal plant which has many therapeutic actions. It is most commonly available plant throughout India. Traditionally it is used as Antipyretic, Analgesic, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-microbial. As per literature, there is no extensive work done on Phyto-chemical screening of the plant so, it was planned for this study. Phyto-chemical screening was done for identification of active chemical constituents. Results concluded that, the identified compound contains steroids and when compared with standards it was revealed that compound is -sito sterol. It also contains some bitter principles as reported. Keywords: Bryonopsis laciniosa, Antipyretic, Analgesic, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-microbial, Pharmacognostic, Phytochemical, Steroids.
