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Original Research Article
Pharmacological Investigation of Selected Medicinal
Plants of Bangladesh
Abu Hasanat Md. Zulfiker1,2, Md Amdadul Hoque3,
Tanzena Akter4, Aysha Afroz2 and
Mohammad Abdul Motalib Momin5٭
1Division of
Molecular and Gene Therapies, School of Medical Science
and Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University, Gold
Coast Campus, QLD, 4222, Australia, 2Department
of Pharmacy, School of Science & Engineering, Southeast
University, Banani, Dhaka-1213, 3Department
of Pharmacy, North South University, Bashundhara,
Dhaka-1229, 4Department of Pharmacy, East
West University, Aftabnagar, Dhaka-1219, 5Department
of Pharmacy, Jahangirnagar University, Savar,
Dhaka-1342, Bangladesh
*For correspondence:
Email:
motalib_ju@yahoo.com; Tel:
+8801718072824
Received: 24 February 2014
Revised accepted: 20 September 2014
Tropical
Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, November 2014;
13(11): 1 925-1931
http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v13i11.22
Abstract
Purpose: To pharmacologically
investigate the methanol and petroleum ether extracts of
the plant leaves of Manilkara zapota (MZME and MZPE,
respectively), Abroma augusta (AAME and AAPE,
respectively) and Vitex negundo (VNME and VNPE,
respectively).
Methods: Analgesic and anti-diarrheal
activities were assessed by acetic acid-induced writhing
and castor oil-induced diarrhea in mice, respectively,
while CNS depressant activity was evaluated using
hole-cross and open-field method by observing the
decrease in exploratory behavior and spontaneous motor
activity in mice, respectively.
Results: All the extracts exhibited
good analgesic activity at a dose of 200 mg/kg with the
following rank order of activity: MZME > MZPE > VNME >
VNPE > AAME > AAPE. Analgesic activity was insignificant
at 100 mg/kg dose except for VNPE (67.81 % inhibition).
The extracts produced significant reduction in diarrheal
episodes in mice at a dose of 400 mg/kg MZPE (highest
protection: 80.3 %, p < 0.05) and VNME (lowest
protection: 38.6 %, p < 0.001). The extracts
demonstrated CNS depressant activity in a dose-dependent
manner (p < 0.05 compared to the standard except for
AAME and AAPE which showed insignificant activity).
Conclusion: The results indicate that
the traditional use of the investigated plants appears
to be justified; however, further studies are required
to unravel the underlying mechanisms of action.
Keywords: Manilkara zapota, Abroma
augusta, Vitex negundo, Analgesic, Central nervous
system depressant, Anti-diarrhoeal |
