Anti-inflammatory and associated analgesic activities of HPLC standardized alcoholic extract of known ayurvedic plant Schleichera oleosa.

BACKGROUND

Schleichera oleosa (Lour.) Oken. commonly known as 'Koshamra' in Ayurveda is a tropical tree readily found in Asia and is used to treat pain and rheumatism, as traditional medicine in different parts of India. However, scientific evidences to justify these claims are lacking. Considering the traditional use of S.oleosa and the lack of information about its pharmacological properties, we investigated the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect of the alcoholic extract of S.oleosa (SE) against different animal models in rodents.

METHODS

The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated against carrageenan induced paw edema and TPA (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate) induced ear edema. To assess the mechanism of anti-inflammatory action the extract was tested against different phlogistic agents like histamine, serotonin, bradykinin and, prostaglandin E2. The analgesic activity was assessed against formalin induced pain.

RESULTS

The ethanolic extract of S. oleosa bark, did not exhibited any signs of toxicity up to a dose of 2000mg/kg. The extract significantly inhibited increase in paw edema and ear edema. A percent reduction of 60.84% was found against carrageenan induced paw edema by 400mg/kg dose of SE. The extract was effective against edema induced by serotonin, histamine and PGE2. In formalin test the extract inhibited both the neurogenic 1st and mainly the inflammatory 2nd phase. Significant reduction in tissue levels of inflammatory mediators was also observed (p<0.05 for NO and p<0.01 for MDA). The extract showed presence of potent analgesic and anti-inflammatory compounds lupeol, lupeol acetate, betulin and betulinic acid on HPLC analysis which can be held responsible for its studied biological activity.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that SE is effective in inflammatory processes and targets multiple mediators of inflammation. Its action is markedly influenced by the inhibition of neutrophil migration, anti-oxidant action and reduction in inflamed tissue.