Volume 17, Issue 39, January - June, 2023

Phytochemical constituent, acute toxicity and analgesic activities of Dichrostachys cinerea leaves methanol extract

Abubakar Abdulhamid¹, Aminu Umar Argungu¹, Habib Musa Abubakar^1♦, Abdulhamid Zubairu¹

¹Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero, Kebbi State, Nigeria

^♦Corresponding author
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero, Kebbi, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

There are several pain relievers available on the market, but current medications are associated with certain side effects, such as gastrointestinal irritation, bronchospasm, fluid retention and prolonged bleeding time. Therefore, it is necessary to find new drugs with fewer side effects. The aim of this research was to investigate the analgesic activity of a methanol extract of Dichrostachys cinerea leaves by central and peripheral methods. An acute toxicity study on Dichrostachys cinerea leaf methanol extract (DCME) revealed that the extract was not toxic up to 3000 mg/kg, indicating that the test extract was within the safe range. Acetic acid-induced writhing results show a significant dose-dependent decline in the number of writhing times compared to the negative control. In addition, Doclofenac (100 mg/kg) significantly (p<0.01) reduced the number of writhing (increased inhibition rate). For the hot plate, the extract had a significant increase (p<0.01) the incubation time at the high dose of 400 mg/kg compared to the control at 90 and 120 minutes. In addition, diclofenac (100 mg/kg) significantly (p<0.01) increased the incubation period from 30th min to 120th min. These activities may be as a result of the existence of flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, glycosides, phenols and more. Also, may be due to the presence of plant compounds. The extractable fraction may act as a free radical inhibitor or scavenger or may act as a primary oxidant. This study showed that the plant compound D. cinerea is effective against neurological disorders, cancer, inflammation, aging, etc. It gives an idea of how it can aid in the treatment of various diseases.

Keywords: Analgesic, phytochemicals, acute toxicity, Dichrostachys cinerea, diclofenec

Drug Discovery, 2023, 17(39), e17dd1914

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v17i39.e17dd1914

Published: 09 April 2023