Planta Med 2014; 80 - LP18
DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1395078

Evaluation of phytochemical constituents, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of extracts of Breynia nivosa leaves

FA Onyegbule 1, IO Ilouno 1, C Ikeh 2, BO Umeokoli 1, PM Eze 3
  • 1Department of Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria
  • 2Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria
  • 3Department of Pharmaceutical Micobiology & Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria

Breynia nivosa is used in treating headaches, toothaches and tooth infections. The study evaluated some ethnomedicinal uses of leaves of B. nivosa. B. nivosa leaves were extracted with methanol, ethanol, ethyl acetate and dichloromethane. The extracts were evaluated for their phytochemicals, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities using standard methods. The extracts contained reasonable quantities of flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, glycosides and starch, with moderate saponins and proteins. The extracts exhibited moderate analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities at different concentrations (50, 100 and 200 mg/Kg), with ethyl acetate having highest activity and dichloromethane (DCM) least; compared to diclofenac. The ethanol extract of B. nivosa leaves showed moderate antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive (B. subtilis and S. aureus) and Gram-negative (S. typhi) bacteria, but not against E. coli and the fungal test isolates (A. fumigates and C. albicans). The inhibition zone diameters produced against the test isolates ranged from 1 – 6 mm at concentrations of 125 – 500 mg/mL; using gentamicin, fluconazole and DMSO as positive and negative controls. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the ethanol extract against the test isolates ranged from 100 – 200 mg/mL. The extracts exhibited moderate DPPH radical scavenging assay activity. The measured DPPH activity of the extracts gave 17 – 52%, 20 – 56%, 31 – 44% and 23 – 44% of inhibition for 31.25 – 1000 µg/ml methanol, ethyl acetate, ethanol and DCM respectively, as compared to 45.11 – 64.95% of inhibition of ascorbic acid.The extracts gave IC50 values of 880, 600, 580 and > 1000 µg/mL; for methanol, ethyl acetate, ethanol and DCM extracts respectively, compared to 20 µg/mL for ascorbic acid. Extracts of B. nivosa leaves are natural anti-oxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agent and could have therapeutic potential in the management of various chronic diseases.

Keywords: Breynia nivosa, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, antimicrobial, phytochemicals.

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