Pharmacological evaluation of stem bark of callicarpa arborea Roxb

Abstract

The ethanol extract of stem bark of Callicarpa arborea and its different fractions were investigated for various pharmacological properties. In the acetic acid-induced writhing inhibition assay, the ethanol extract and its chloroform and ethyl acetate soluble fractions at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight significantly inhibited writhing response with 42.7%, 70.3% and 32.8% of inhibition, respectively. In the antioxidant assay by DPPH, the ethanol extract and its pet ether and chloroform soluble partitionates demonstrated significant free radical scavenging activity with IC 50 values of 41.53, 14.59 and 71.2 µg/mL, respectively. In the disc diffusion method, the carbon tetrachloride soluble materials showed potential antimicrobial activity against all the tested organisms with zone of inhibition ranging from 19-22 mm at a concentration of 400 µg/disc. On the other hand, the pet ether soluble fraction induced significant clot lysis (30.43%) when compared to negative control. Our findings from the studies clearly indicate that the stem bark of C. arborea possesses potential antinociceptive, antioxidant, antimicrobial and thrombolytic activities, which further warrant its systematic chemical investigation in order to isolate the biologically active molecules.