Saraca asoca has been traditionally used in Indian system for treatment of uterine, genital, and other reproductive disorders in women, fever, pain, and inflammation. The hypothesis of this study is that acetone extract of Saraca asoca seeds is an effective anti-inflammatory treatment for arthritis in animal experiments. The antiarthritic effect of its oral administration on Freund's adjuvant-induced arthritis has been studied in Wistar albino rats after acute and subacute toxicities. Phytochemical analysis revealed presence of high concentrations of phenolic compounds such as flavonoids and tannins, while no mortality or morbidity was observed up to 1000 mg/kg dose during acute and subacute toxicity assessments. Regular treatment up to 21 days of adjuvant-induced arthritic rats with Saraca asoca acetone extract (at 300 and 500 mg/kg doses) increases RBC and Hb, decreases WBC, ESR, and prostaglandin levels in blood, and restores body weight when compared with control (normal saline) and standard (Indomethacin) groups. Significant (P < 0.05) inhibitory effect was observed especially at higher dose on paw edema, ankle joint inflammation, and hydroxyproline and glucosamine concentrations in urine. Normal radiological images of joint and histopathological analysis of joint, liver, stomach, and kidney also confirmed its significant nontoxic, antiarthritic, and anti-inflammatory effect.
The stem bark of Ashoka (Saraca asoca) plant has been traditionally used for a number of therapeutic purposes including anti-inflammatory activities. It has been described in ancient Ayurvedic texts as an analgesic also but rampant use of its stem bark has affected the plant population although its seeds are available in plenty. This research effort aims to examine the central analgesic effect of acetone, methanol and aqueous extracts of the powder of Asoka seeds to validate its antinociceptive properties described in the literature. Apart from the standard pharmacognosy and phyto-chemical examination, acute toxicity studies were carried out on all the extracts before assessing the central analgesic effect using the standard techniques of hot plate and tail immersion methods. Morphine Sulphate was used as the standard drug in both these cases. During phytochemical analysis, flavonoids, polyphenols, tannins and saponins were found in the plant extracts while no significant morbidity or any mortality was noticed during the toxicity studies. All the extracts exhibited significant central analgesic effect at doses of 300 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg as compared to the control group, the antinociceptive efficacy being greater at the higher drug dose. The highest analgesic effect was observed in case of aqueous extract, followed by acetone extract and the lowest in case of methanol extract. The therapeutic efficacy at higher dosage of aqueous extract was comparable to but lower compared to the standard drug. However, the analgesic effect of the drug extracts persisted for a longer time than the standard drug, validating its comparable and sustained analgesic effect.
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