No abstract

AbstactCrude saponin extracts of five medicinal plants used in the treatment of inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, gout and haemorrhoids were screened for anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema test. These plants were the whole plant of Schwenkia americana Linn (WSA), the rhizomes of Asparagus africanus Lam (RAA), the leaves of Dichrostachys cinerea Linn (LDC), the stem bark of Ficus iteophylla Miq (BFI) and the leaves of Indigofera pulchra Willd (LIP). A modify traditional method of crude saponins extraction was used to give the following percentage yields: WSA-2.74%, RAA-3.59%, LDC-1.62%, BFI-0.81% and LIP-1.57% respectively. Thin-layer chromatography was used to identify the type of saponins present in the extracts. The acute toxicity study of the crude saponin extracts in mice gave the following intraperitoneal LD 50 : WSA-471.2mg/kg, RAA-1264.9mg/kg, LDC-1264.9mg/kg, BFI-118.3mg/kg and LIP-1264.9mg/kg respectively. The antiinflammatory study of the extracts showed statistically significant (P<0.05) decreases in the rat paw-oedema as compared to the control. The percentage inhibitions of the extracts after four hours were as follow: WSA-61%, RAA-55%, LDC-72%, BFI-66% and LIP-40% respectively. These values were found to be comparable to that of ketoprofen-63%. The study showed that the antiinflammatory properties attributable to these plants may be due to their saponins contents.

This study was undertaken to investigate the leaf part of the plant for analgesic and anti-inflammatory. The ethanol extract of Ficus iteophylla leaves (100, 200, and 400mgkg -1 , i.p) was evaluated for analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. The analgesic effect was studied using acetic acid-induced abdominal constriction and hot plate test in mice, while the antiinflammatory effect was investigated using carrageenan induced paw oedema in rats. The ethanol extract at 100mgkg-1 , and 400mgkg -1 significantly (P< 0.05) inhibited acetic acid induced writhes by 1.50 ± 0.43, 3.0 ± 0.82 and 1.0 ± 0.82 respectively. It also exhibited significantly (P< 0.05) anti-inflammatory by 0.11 ± 0.02, 0.11 ± 0.03, 0.08 ± 0.01 respectively. The preliminary phytochemical screening of the plant extract revealed the presence of flavonoids, steroids, tannins and saponins while the effect of flavonoids, steroids and tannins on analgesic and inflammatory has been reported. The intraperitoneal median lethal dose (LD 50 ) value of the extract was found to be 3807.8 mgkg -1 body weights. The result obtained from this study shows that the extract of Ficus iteophylla contained phytochemical constituents with analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities, therefore the leaf part of the plant could be used in the management of pain and inflammatory conditions.

Gardenia aqualla Stapf & Hutch (Rubeacea) is a plant belonging to the family Rubeacea. Preliminary phytochemistry carried out on the methanolic (ME) extract of the stem bark revealed the presence of steroid, carbohydrates, anthraquinones, saponins, triterpenes, tannins, cardiac glycoside and flavonoid while the petroleum ether (PE) extract of the stem bark revealed the presence of steroid, triterpenes and flavonoids. The PE extract and the ME were evaluated for antimicrobial screening using agar diffusion and broth dilution method on the following clinical isolates; Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenterea and the fungi Trichophytom rubrum, Candida albicans and Microsporan spp. Both extracts were active against S. aureus, E. aerogenes, E. coli, S. typhi and S. dysenteriae with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) between 3.13 and 6.25 mg/ml and 1.25 to 2.25 mg/ml for PE and ME extracts, respectively and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) ranged between 12.50 to 25.00 mg/ml and 2.50 to 5.00 mg/ml for PE and ME extracts, respectively. Both extracts showed no antifungal activity. The antibacterial activity of both extracts may be due to the presence of the secondary metabolites present. This study thus justifies the use of this plant in traditional medicine.

Globimetula braunii is a bushy parasitic plant growing on Terminalia catappa, which has a variety of use in African traditional medicine. The leaves of the plant was subjected to preliminary phytochemical analysis, Acute Toxicity studies and analgesic activity using Hot plate and acetic acid induced pain method in mice, while the anti-inflammatory activity was tested using Carrageenan-induced paw oedema in rats. The Phytochemical analysis of the ethanolic leaf extract of Globimetula braunii revealed the presence of Carbohydrate, Steriods, Triterpenes, Tannins, Saponins, Alkaloids and Flavonoids; The LD 50 was found to be greater than 5000 mg/kg which shows that the plant extract is relatively safe. The results from the Hot-plate method showed that the extract was statistically significant at (p<0.02 and p<0.01), this shows that there is increase in the latency of pain in the extract compare to standard drug pentazocine (20 mg/kg), while the Acetic acid induced method the extract was statistically significant at (p<0.02) with a percentage of inhibition of 65.5%, 65.2%, and 67.7% at the doses of 12.5 mg/kg, 25 mg/kg, and 50 mg/kg compared with the standard drug piroxicam (10 mg/kg) with a percentage inhibition of 54.3%. The extract was also found to significantly (P<0.05) inhibit oedema at all doses: 250 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg. This shows that the plant contains phytochemical constituent with analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. Collection and identification of materials The leaves of G. braunii growing on Terminalia catapa were collected in the month April, 2013, at the fields of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria. The plant was identified by Mallam U.S.