Phytochemical screening, antinociceptive, anthelmintic and cytotoxicity studies of the leaves of Carissa carandas Linn. (Family: Apocynaceae)

Abstract

Background: Carissa carandas Linn. (Bengali name- Karamya, Karancha, Karamcha, English name-Karaunda) commonly known as Karanda is a widly used medicinal plants belongs to apocynaceae family. The various plant parts of C. carandas have been used for ethnomedicine in the treatment of human diseases, such as diarrhea, stomachic, anorexia, intermittent fever, mouth ulcer and sore throat, syphilitic pain, burning sensation, scabies and epilepsy. The current studies were aimed to investigate the phytochemical constituents, antinociceptive, anthelmintic and cytotoxic activities of the methanol extract of leaves of C. carandas. Methods: The antinociceptive property of the methanol leaves extract of C. carandas was evaluated in swiss albino mice by using acetic acid-induced writhing test and anthelmintic activity of the fresh leaves juice was performed by observing the time of paralysis and the time of death of earth worms Pheretima posthuma. On the other hand, the methanol extract of leaves of C. carandas was screened for cytotoxic activity by brine shrimp lethality bioassay. Results: Phytochemical screening showed that the methanol leaves extract contained alkaloids, steroids, flavanoids, tannins, saponins and reducing sugar. The antinociceptive activity test revealed that the extract showed significant antinociceptive activity and the fresh juice of the leaves of C. carandas showed potent anthelmintic activity. In cytotoxicity studies, the methanol leaves extract displayed moderate cytotoxic activity when compared with standard drug, vincristine sulphate. Conclusions: In the current studies, these observations also support the use of this plant for medicinal purposes and encourage further investigations for more fruitful results.