Antinociceptive activity of Premna corymbosa (Burm.f.)Rottl. & Willd.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the acute toxicity and antinociceptive activity of an ethanolic extract of Premna corymbosa in animal models. In the acute toxicity study, the ethanolic extract showed no clinical signs and mortality of the animals and was found to be safe. In the acetic acid-induced writhing model, the ethanolic extract at a dose of 200 or 400 mg kg(-1) body weight significantly (p < .01) inhibited the writhing response by 42.57% and 54.67%, respectively. In the hot plate test, the extract produced a significant (p < .01) increase in latency with 34.50% and 51.08% of protection in a dose-related manner. This study has established the analgesic properties of P. corymbosa (Burm.f.) Rottl. and Willd. The beta-sitosterol or luteolin present in the ethanolic extract may contribute the antinociceptive activity of P. corymbosa.