In vivo antinociceptive and anticonvulsant activity of extracts of Heliotropium strigosum.

Natural healing agents are primarily focused to overcome unwanted side effects with synthetic drugs worldwide. In the proposed study, crude extracts and subsequent solvent fractions of Heliotropium strigosum were evaluated for antinociceptive and anticonvulsant activity in animal paradigms. In post acetic acid-induced writhing test, crude extract and fractions (hexane, ethyl acetate, and aqueous) demonstrated marked attenuation of nociception at test doses (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg i.p.). When challenged against thermally induced pain model, pretreatment of extracts exhibited prominent amelioration at test dose (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg i.p.). In both tests, inhibition of noxious stimulation was in a dose-dependent manner, and ethyl acetate fraction was most dominant. However, extracts did not antagonize the seizures and mortality induced by pentylenetetrazole. In conclusion, the extracts of H. strigosum illustrated significant antinociceptive effect in both centrally and peripherally acting pain models.

Lipoxygenase and urease inhibition of the aerial parts of the Polygonatum verticillatum.

Over expression of lipoxygenase (LOX) and urease has already contributed to the pathology of different human disease. Targeting the inhibition of these enzymes has proved great clinical utility. The aim of the present study was to scrutinised the inhibitory profile of the aerial parts of the Polygonatum verticillatum enzyme against LOX, urease, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) using standard experimental protocols. When checked against lipoxygenase, the extracts revealed significant attenuation. Of the tested extracts, the ethyl acetate fraction was the most potent (half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC(50)): 97 µg/mL) followed by aqueous fraction IC(50): 109 µg/mL). Regarding urease inhibition, n-butanol was the most potent fraction (IC(50): 97 µg/mL). However, the extracts did not show significant inhibition on AChE and BChE. In the preliminary phytochemical tests, the aerial parts of the plant showed the presence of saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, tannins and terpenoids. The current findings could be attributed to these groups of compounds.