ANALGESIC, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANXIOLYTIC ACTIVITIES OF SARCOCHLAMYS PULCHERRIMA GAUDICH

The aim of the current study was to evaluate analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anxiolytic activities of methanol extract of the leaves of Sarcochlamys pulcherrima Gaudich (SPME). In analgesic activity test, the crude extract revealed 54.35% protection at 200 mg/kg b.w. as compared to that 69.67% exhibited by standard diclofenac sodium.In the anti-inflammatory test, the crude extracts at the dose of 400 μg/ml showed 37.03 % inhibition of protein denaturation whereas standard acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) exhibited 76.75% inhibition. The anxiolytic activity was examined in mice by using the hole board test and open field test (OFT). The results demonstrated that the plant extract significantly increased the number of line crossing as compared to control in hole cross tests. In open field test, the extract showed significant increase in the number of square crossed. The efficacy of the extract (200- 400 mg/kg b.w.) was compared with standard anxiolytic drug diazepam (1 mg/kg b.w.). It can be concluded that the methanol extract of S. pulcherrima has moderate analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities in various animal models and this strongly supports the ethno-pharmacological uses of this plant as analgesic, anti- inflammatory and anxiolytic agent. The role of the various classes of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavonoids and triterpenoids present in the plant extract needs to be evaluated in future studies.