title: Antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties of the aqueous extract of Bauhinia purpurea leaves in experimental animals.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. shaza8174@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Zainul Amiruddin
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Zakaria
authors.forename: Loo Yi
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Nurul Izzah
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Abdul Rahman
authors.forename: Abdul Halim
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Abdul Ayub
authors.forename: Mohd Roslan
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sulaiman
authors.forename: Hanan Kumar
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Gopalan
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts