Antioxidant, antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties of the aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts of Andrographis paniculata in some laboratory animals

Abstract

AbstractThe study was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antioxidant properties ofThe dried and powdered leaves of the plant were subjected to phytochemical and proximate analyses. Its mineral content was also determined. Acute toxicity experiments were first performed to determine a safe dose level. The plant material was extracted using water and ethanol as solvents. These extracts were then used to test for the anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antioxidant properties of the plant. The anti-inflammatory tests included carrageenan-induced and histamine-induced paw oedema. The analgesic tests conducted were formalin paw lick test and acetic acid writhing test. The antioxidant activities of the extracts ofThe acute toxicity experiment demonstrated that the plant is safe at high doses even at 1600 mg/kg. It was observed that the ethanolic extract ofThe results from this study may have justified the plant’s folkloric use for medicinal purpose.