Key words
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| Analgesic activity, tail immersion, Sphaeranthus indicus |
Introduction
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| Sphaeranthus indicus Linn. (S. hirtus willd.) (SI) commonly called as East Indian Globe Thistle belonging to compositae (Hindi-mundi & Tamilkottakkarantai) which is widely distributed in India. The plant is used in traditional system of medicine in epilepsy, juice of the plant used in jaundice, hepatopathy and gastropathy. A parts of the herb mixed with oil is good for pruritus and painful swellings. The roots are bitter, acrid, sweet, thermogenic, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge and stomachic. It is also useful in diabetes, hernia, haemorrhoids, helminthiasis and dyspepsia. Oil prepared by using the root is useful in scrofula. The powdered leaf is good for skin diseases and is considered as a nervine tonic. [1,2,3] Phytochemical studies reported the presence of sesquiterpenes [4], eudesmenolide and costic acid [5], 8-D-glucoside of (24 S)-24-ethylcholesta-5, 22-diene-3 8-ol [6], cyclopeptide alkaloids [7], 7-hydroxydesmonolides [8], and Isoflavone glycoside [9]. The pharmacological studies reported in this plant are antimicrobial activity [10], and immunostimulant activity of sesquiterpene glycoside [11]. |
| However no study has been reported to reveal the analgesic property. Hence present study was under taken to evaluate analgesic activity by tail immersion method in rats. |
Materials and methods
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Plant Material
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| Pharmacognostically identified Sphaeranthus indicus Linn. (whole plant) was collected from waste lands near chennai in the month of May 2004 and identified by Dr. P. Jayaraman, Ph. D., Plant anatomy research centre, West Tambaram, Chennai- 600 045. The specimen voucher was deposited in S. R. M College of Pharmacy. |
Preparation of Extract
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| The S. indicus whole plants were shade dried, powdered and extracted by maceration with 70% ethanol at room temperature for 24 h. Then the extract was concentrated using rotary vacuum evaporator to get the solid mass. The yield obtained was 7.5%. The extract, was suspended in 12% Tween 80 for analgesic acivity. |
Animals used
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| Wistar albino rats of either sex were obtained from Tamilnadu Veterinary College and Research Institute, Chennai. The animals were maintained in colony cages at 25 ± 2 ºC, relative humidity 50-55% maintained under 12 h light and dark cycle (06 to 18 h light; 18 to 06 h dark). The animals were fed with standard animal feed (Hindustan Lever Ltd.) and water ad libitum. All the animals were acclimatized to the laboratory conditions prior to experimentation. Acute toxicity study was performed for the extracts to ascertain safe dose by acute oral toxic class method of Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, as per 423 guidelines (OECD) [12]. |
Analgesic activity (Tail immersion method)
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| The procedure is based on the observation that morphine-like drugs are selectively prolonging the reaction time of the typical tail-withdrawal reflex in rats induced by immersing the end of the tail in warm water of 55 °C. Control rats were treated with vehicle (12% Tween 80, 1 ml/kg) [13]. Pentazocine was used as positive control (10 mg/kg) and ALSI was administered (250 and 500mg/kg, i. p). The tailwithdrawal reflex was recorded before and after 15, 30, 60 and 120 minutes following intraperitoneal administration of the extract to different groups. |
Statistical Analysis
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| The statistical analysis of all the result was carried out using one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnets multiple comparisons using graph pad in stat 3 and all the results obtained in the study were compared with the vehicle control group. |
Results and Discussion
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| Tail immersion method is considered to be selective for opioid like compounds in several animal species [14]. The results are recorded in Table 1. The tail withdrawal reflexes in seconds were noted. The analgesic activity showed dose dependent activity. Preliminary phytochemical studies revealed the presence of flavanoids, terpenoids and alkaloids. The analgesic activity may be due to the presence of the above chemicals. However further study is required to isolate the active chemicals responsible for the activity. |
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Tables at a glance
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| Table 1 |
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References
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- Anonymous. Wealth of India, Raw materials, Publication and Information Directorate, CSIR, New Delhi.1982, IV pp 35-36.
- Chopra RN, Nayar SI, Chopra IC. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants, Publication and Information Directorate, New Delhi, 1956, pp 232.
- Kirtikar KR, Basu BD. 1935. Indian Medicinal Plant, II. Lalit Mohan Publication, Allahabad, pp. 1347- 1348.
- Gogte MG, Ananthasubramanian L, Nargund KS, BhattcharyaSC.Some interesting sesquiterpenoids from S. indicus Linn. (Compositae). Indian J Chem 25B, 1986; 25B:233-238.
- SohaniJayant S, Rojatkar, Supada R, Kulkarni, Mandakini M, DhaneshwarNarayandatta N, Tavale, Sudam, S, Gururow, Tayur N, Nagasampagi, Bhimsen A. A new edudesmonolide and costic acid from S. indicus Linn.J ChemSoc, Perkins Trans 1988; 2: 157-160.
- Singh SK, Tripathi VJ, Singh AK, Singh RH. A - Dglucoside of (24 S)-24-ethylcholesta-5, 22-diene-3A-ol from S. indicus. Indian Drugs 1989; 26: 317-318.
- Chughtai MID, Khokhar, Irshad, Ahmed, Ashfaq. Isolation, purification and structural determination of alkaloids from the flowers of S. indicus.Sci International (Lahore) 1992; 4: 151-154.
- Rojatkar SR, Nagasampagi BA. 7- Hydroxyeudesmonolides from Sphaeranthusindicus. Phytochemistry 1992; 31: 3270-3271.
- Yadava RN, Kumar S. A novel isoflavone glycoside from the leaves of Sphaeranthusindicus.Fitoterapia 1998; 70: 127-129.
- Singh SK, Saroj K, Tripathi VJ, Singh AK, Singh RH. Antimicrobial principle from Sphaeranthusindicus L. family Compositae.Int J Crude Drug Res 1988; 26: 235-239.
- Shekhani MS, Shah PM, Yasmin A, Siddiqque R, Perveen S, Khan KM. Atta-ur-Rahman. Animmunostimulentsesquiterpene glycoside from Sphaeranthusindicus.Phytochemistry 1990; 29: 2573-2576.
- Donald, J., Ecobichon. The Basis of Toxicity Testing. CRC Press, New York, 1997, pp. 43–49.
- Dykstra LA, Woods JH. A tail withdrawal procedure for assessing analgesic activity in Rhesus monkeys.J Pharmacol Methods 1986; 15:263-269.
- Janssen P, Neimemegeers CJE, Dony JGH. The inhibitory effects of Fentanyl and other morphine - like analgesics on the warm water induced tail withdrawal reflex in rats. ArzneimittelForschung 1963; 13: 502-507.
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