Anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential of acetone leaf extract of combretum sordidum and its fractions

Abstract

Combretum species are traditionally used in treatment of arthritis, fungal and bacterial infections. This study investigated anti-inflammatory activity of C. sordidum acetone extract in egg albumen-induced paw oedema and formalin paw lick test in rats, while analgesic activity was determined by acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing test in mouse. Bioactivity guided analgesic effect were also carried out on solvent-solvent partitioned and chromatographic fractions. Rats administered with extract progressively showed significant reduction in oedema formation 60 minutes post-induction. Dose-dependent inhibition of formalin-induced paw lick was observed at early and late phases of the experiment compared to indomethacin. Abdominal writhing was significantly inhibited with 400mg/kg extract effect (73.1%) comparable to aspirin (75.9%). Most active chromatographic fraction identified as F7 (79.5%) showed significant analgesic activity, higher than aspirin (55.0%). Results established anti-inflammatory and analgesic of C. sordidum. Further studies are on-going to identify and characterize the bioactive principle responsible for these pharmacological effects.