Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities of Pergularia daemia and Carissa carandas

Abstract

Background: The plant Pergularia daemia (Asclepiadaceae) and Carissa carandas (Apocynaceae) are traditionally used as a medicinal agent and they are widely distributed to tropical and subtropical region of India. In the present study the folklore uses of P. daemia and C. carandas was investigated.

Methods: The analgesic activity was studied in mice using hot plate and acetic acid induced writhing methods, while carrageenan induced paw edema was used to access anti-inflammatory activity. The antipyretic activity was evaluated by Brewer's yeast induced pyrexia in rats.

 Results: The ethanol and aqueous extracts from roots of P. daemia and C. carandas exhibited significant (p < 0.01) analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities at the doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight. In analgesic activity, the highest reaction time was observed (9.8 sec.) from ethanol extracts of P.daemia at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight, while highest percentage of inhibition of abdominal constriction (72.67%) was observed for ethanol extracts of C.carandas at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight. The ethanol and aqueous extracts of P. daemia and C. carandas were found to reduce significantly the formation of edema induced by carrageenan after 2 hrs. Both plants showed significantly competent on yeast induced hyperpyrexia in rats after 2 hrs.

Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that the ethanol and aqueous extracts from roots of P. daemia and C. carandas possess significant analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities in rodent models.