ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF THE LEAVES OF WISSADULA AMPLISSIMA VAR ROSTRATA

Authors

  • A. Y. Mensah
  • P. O. Donkor
  • T. C. Fleischer

Keywords:

Wissadula amplissima, anti-inflammatory, carrageenan, antioxidant capacity

Abstract

The present study determined the anti-inflammatory activity of Wissadula amplissima var rostrata (Schum. & Thonn.), and calculated the total phenolic content and total antioxidant capacity of the plant in an attempt to justify the traditional uses of the plant in the Ashanti region of Ghana for the management of spider,wasps and bee stings. Powdered dried leaves of Wissadula amplissima were Soxhlet extracted with Petroleum Ether (PWA, yield: 1.46% w/w); Chloroform (CWA, yield: 1.18% w/w) and Methanol (MWA, yield: 3.39% w/w). These fractions were tested for anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenan-induced foot edema in 7 day old chicks. The effect before the induction of inflammation (pre-emptive protocol) paradigm was used for the assessment. Oral administration of PWA, CWA and MWA (30 – 300 mg/kg) dose dependently reduced edema with maximal effects of 68.25±2.03%, 77.83±0.81% and 62.21±2.61% respectively. Similarly the NSAID, Diclofenac (10 – 100 mg/Kg, i.p) and the steroidal anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone (0.3 – 3 mg/Kg, i.p) used as positive controls, dose-dependently inhibited the edema with maximal effect of 87.96±1.11% and 67.47±3.51% respectively. The potencies exhibited by all three extracts were comparable to that shown by Diclofenac but higher than that of Dexamethasone. Phenols were detected in all three extracts with the highest concentration in the MWA. The extracts also scavenged DPPH with EC50 values of 0.9784, 0.9096 and 0.2767 for PWA, CWA, MWA respectively. The results of this study give scientific credence to the local use of Wissadula amplissima to modulate inflammation induced by stings of animals.

Author Biography

A. Y. Mensah

Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

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Published

2010-11-09

How to Cite

Mensah, A. Y., Donkor, P. O., & Fleischer, T. C. (2010). ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF THE LEAVES OF WISSADULA AMPLISSIMA VAR ROSTRATA. African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines, 8(2), 185–195. Retrieved from https://athmsi.org/journals/index.php/ajtcam/article/view/1225

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Section

Research Papers

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