Authors : Z.A. Zakaria, N.I. Abdul Rahman, Y.W. Loo, A.H. Abdul Ayub, M.R. Sulaiman, A.M. Mat Jais, H.K. Gopalan and C.A. Fatimah
Abstract: Bauhinia purpurea L. (Leguminosae), has been used traditionally to treat ailments like sores, wounds and diarrhea. The present study was carried out to establish the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of chloroform extract of B. purpurea leaves using animal models. The air-dried, powdered leaves (≈ 20 g) were soaked in chloroform (1:20; w v-1) for 72 h and the supernatant obtained was then evaporated to dryness. The crude dried extract (≈ 1.323 g), dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide, was prepared in the doses of 20, 100 and 200 mg kg-1 and then subjected to the respective antinociceptive (abdominal constriction, hot plate and formalin tests) and anti-inflammatory (carrageenan-induced paw edema test) assays. The results obtained indicate that the extract possess significant (p<0.05), but concentration-independent, antinociceptive activity when assessed using the abdominal constriction-and hot plate-test. This activity was also, significantly (p<0.05) observed in the early and late phases of the formalin test. The extract also exhibited significant (p<0.05) anti-inflammatory activity in a non-concentration-dependent manner. Unexpectedly, the 100 mg kg-1 extract showed a less remarkable anti-inflammatory activity compared to the other doses tested. The chloroform extract of B. purpurea contain bioactive compounds with potential peripheral and central antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities that requires further investigation.
Z.A. Zakaria, N.I. Abdul Rahman, Y.W. Loo, A.H. Abdul Ayub, M.R. Sulaiman, A.M. Mat Jais, H.K. Gopalan and C.A. Fatimah, 2009. Antinociceptive and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of the Chloroform Extract of Bauhinia purpurea L. (Leguminosae) Leaves in Animal Models. International Journal of Tropical Medicine, 4: 140-145.