Study of Multifaceted Effect of Vitexnegundo Leaves Aqueous Extract and Decoction for Pain Relief in Experimental Models

Abstract

Background: Pain is the warning signal of underlying pathology. Analgesic drugs are used as per the severity of pain. These drugs have their own adverse drug reactions, sometimes requiring the discontinuation of treatment. Perception and reaction to the pain are two important facets of pain. Reaction in the form of fear,restlessness, spasm of the muscles etc. are seen. Effectiveness of Vitexnegundoin pain have been studied, we planned to evaluate the associated components of it. Objectives: To evaluate, the Analgesic action, Anxiolytic action and Muscle relaxant action of Vitexnegundo leaves aqueous extract (VNLE) and Vitexnegundo dried leaves decoction (VNDLD). Material and methods: Fresh prepared VNLE and VNDLD are the two preparations of Vitexnegundo used to evaluate the analgesic, anxiolytic and skeletal muscle relaxant activity. Wistar rats and mice of either sex were divided into four groups, control, positive control, VNLE&VNDLD. Standard drug pentazocine& diazepam were used for analgesic & skeletal muscle relaxant property respectively. Rats were exposed to hot plate for Analgesic activity, elevated plus maze (EPM) for anxiolytic effect and mice to rotarod apparatus for checking skeletal muscle relaxation after the drug treatment.Analysis was done with graph pad prism 6. Results: Pain threshold was significantly increased at (p<0.001) Pentazocine and (p<0.01) in Vitexnigundo juice as observed from increase in reaction time. VNLE and VNDLD significantly showed positive effect on the parameters of the EPM. This observation was comparable with the standard drug diazepam. Time spent on the rota rod was significantly reduced in all drug treated mice. Conclusion:Analgesic and antianxiety activity of Vitexnegundo is confirmed.Fresh juice VNLE was more effective than the VNDLD. It also possesses skeletal muscle relaxant action, enhancing the pain relief.