Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of the methanol extract of Chlorophytum alismifolium tubers

Abstract

The tubers of Chlorophytum alismifolium Baker (Family: Liliaceae) are used in Herbal Medicine for the management of various ailments including diabetes mellitus, erectile dysfunction, abdominal pains and inflammatory conditions. Despite its wide usage for management of pain and inflammation, there is no scientific justification to validate this claim. This study was aimed at screening the methanol tuber extract of Chlorophytum alismifolium for antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities using experimental animal models. The antinociceptive activity was tested using acetic acid-induced writhing response in Swiss albino mice and formalininduced pain in Wistar rats, while the anti-inflammatory activity was tested using carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats at doses of 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg. The extract significantly (p< 0.001) reduced the number of writhes at all tested doses. At 800 mg/kg, it significantly (p< 0.01) inhibited the first phase of formalin-induced pain while the second phase was inhibited significantly (p< 0.05 and p< 0.01) at doses of 400 and 800 mg/kg respectively. The extract (400 and 800 mg/kg) significantly (p< 0.05) inhibited the carrageenan-induced inflammation at the third hour. A similar activity was also observed at the fourth hour with 61.61% inhibition of paw oedema at 400 mg/kg. These findings suggest that Chlorophytum alismifolium tuber extract possesses antinociceptive and antiinflammatory activities, thus support the claim for the ethnomedical use of the plant in the management of pain and inflammatory diseases.

Keywords: Chlorophytum alismifolium, anti-nociception, anti-inflammation, Carrageenan, Formalin