Antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties of the aqueous extract of Bauhinia purpurea leaves in experimental animals.
OBJECTIVE
The present study was carried out to determine the antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities of the aqueous extract of Bauhinia purpurea leaves using animal models.


METHODS
The air-dried, powdered leaves (approximately 20 g) were soaked in distilled water (1:20; w/v) at room temperature for 72 h and the supernatant obtained was freeze-dried. The crude dried extract (approximately 2.4 g) was prepared in doses of 6.0, 30.0 and 60.0 mg/kg, and subjected to the respective antinociceptive (abdominal constriction, hot plate and formalin tests), anti-inflammatory (carrageenan-induced paw edema test) and antipyretic (brewer's yeast-induced pyrexia test) assays.


RESULTS
The results obtained indicate that the extract possessed significant (p < 0.05) antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities, which were not dependent on the doses of extract used. The highest concentration of extract was less effective as an anti-inflammatory and an antipyretic agent.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that the aqueous extract of B. purpurea leaves possesses potential pharmacological activities that require further investigation and, thus, confirms the folklore use of the plant in the treatment of ailments associated with pain and inflammation.
Zakaria
Zainul Amiruddin
ZA
Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. shaza8174@yahoo.com
Wen
Loo Yi
LY
Abdul Rahman
Nurul Izzah
NI
Abdul Ayub
Abdul Halim
AH
Sulaiman
Mohd Roslan
MR
Gopalan
Hanan Kumar
HK
D000818:Animals; D036481:Bauhinia; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005334:Fever / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018515:Plant Leaves; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D010936:Plant Extracts