Anti-inflammatory Activity with Pharmacological and Sub-chronic ToxicityStudies of some Medicinal Plants Extracts

Abstract

In the current study experiments were conducted to evaluate the possible anti-inflammatory effects of Crude Ethanolic Extracts CEE of Aerva javanica whole plant , Amaranthus viridis whole plant and Lepidium sativum seeds in rats injected with Carrageenan so as scientifically appraise its ethnomedicinal use and to detect any side effects that may be associated with their use . The ethanolic extract of the three plants were studied on selected isolated tissue preparations and their sub-chronic toxicity studies were evaluated . In the study , using a dose of 250 mg /kg of ethanolic extracts of the three plants was found to produce reduction or inhibition of the inflammation as 48.3 % at 3 hrs for CEE of Aerva javanica . The CEE of Amaranthus viridis produced inhibition of inflammation as 40.3 % at 3 hrs and the CEE of Lepidium sativum produced inhibition of inflammation as 38.6 % at 3 hrs respectively . The anti-inflammatory activity of the three plants was also confirmed by using the dose of 500 mg / kg and the inhibition of inflammation was found as 85.2 % for the CEE of Aerva javanica at 3 hrs . The CEE of Amaranthus viridis produced inhibition of inflammation as 70.4 % at 3 hrs and the CEE of Lepidium sativum produced inhibition of inflammation as 46.0 % at 3 hrs . The effect of CEE of the three plants on smooth muscle of rabbit jejunum were tested . The CEE of Aerva javanica whole plant showed contraction of the smooth muscle of rabbit jejunum . The contraction was blocked by atropine ( 5 μg / ml ) , antagonistic property . The CEE of Amaranthus viridis whole plant and the CEE of Lepidium sativum seeds showed a dose dependent ( 1,2,4 mg/ml ) stimulation of the isolated rabbit jejunum preparation , this stimulation was partially blocked by atropine (5 μg / ml ) , but was blocked by cyproheptadine ( 40 μg / ml ) , ( a non-selective 5-HT blocker ) . In the sub-chronic toxicity study , the result of haematological studies of the three plants , concerning haemoglobin ( Hb ) , packed cell volume ( PCV ) , mean corpuscular volume ( MCV ) , mean corpuscular haemoglobin ( MCH ) , mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration ( MCHC ) , red blood cell count ( RBCs ) and white blood cell count ( WBCs ) showed no significant change from the control group for the two different doses at the two different periods of time . The result of the biochemical assays of the three plants , concerning liver function and the kidney function tests , the ethanolic extracts of the three plants showed no significant change from the control group for the two different doses at the two different periods of time . Histopathological changes of the tissues of liver , kidneys , intestines , spleen and heart showed no histopathological changes were observed in the spleen and heart tissue , but there were congested vacuolated hepatocytes with dilated hepatic blood vessels and dilated liver sinusoids with perilobular and centrilobular hepatocytic necrosis . The renal tubules were congested and dilated with variations in renal glomeruli size and many lobulated glomeruli tufts with dilated bowman space and focus of macrophage collection . The intestinal villi and the intestinal mucosal epithelium were desquamated and the lumen contain RBCs and shreads of epithelial cells and WBCs .