title: Evaluation of the antinociceptive activity and acute oral toxicity of standardized ethanolic extract of the rhizome of Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb.
abstract: Ethanolic extract of Curcuma xanthorrhiza was used to evaluate the analgesic and toxicity effects in vivo. The extract was standardized using GC-MS, which showed that 1 mg of Curcuma xanthorrhiza ethanolic extract contains 0.1238 mg of xanthorrhizol. The analgesic activity was studied in rats using three different models, namely the hot plate test, tail flick test and formalin-induced pain test. The acute oral toxicity was examined by the oral administration of standardized Curcuma xanthorrhiza ethanolic extract in mice at doses ranging from 300-5,000 mg/kg and observation for 14 days. Standardized Curcuma xanthorrhiza ethanolic extract did not show significant analgesic effect in the hot plate and tail flick tests. However, in the formalin-induced pain test, Curcuma xanthorrhiza ethanolic extract significantly (P < 0.05) suppressed the paw licking time of rats in both early and late phases at doses 200 and 400 mg/kg of the extract, respectively. In the acute oral toxicity study, Curcuma xanthorrhiza ethanolic extract did not show any toxic effects in mice at 5 g/kg. These experimental results suggest that the standardized Curcuma xanthorrhiza ethanolic extract showed peripheral and central antinociceptive activity associated with neurogenic pain as well as a relative absence of toxic effects which could compromise the medicinal use of this plant in folk medicine.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Drug Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Sutha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Devaraj
authors.forename: Azadeh Sabetghadam
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Esfahani
authors.forename: Sabariah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.forename: Surash
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramanathan
authors.forename: Mun Fei
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Yam
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000700:Analgesics / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D030024:Curcuma / Q000737:chemistry*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D010146:Pain / Q000517:prevention & control; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D027343:Rhizome / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D010936:Plant Extracts; D000431:Ethanol