Evaluation of pharmacological activities of methanol extract of Ixora cuneifolia leaves

In the current study in vitro antioxidant, thrombolytic and in vivo analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-diarrheal activities of methanol extract of Ixora cuneifolia leaves (MEIL) were investigated. The antioxidant activity was determined by using DPPH free radical scavenging method at doses 25, 50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 μg/ml. Total phenolic content was determined at doses of 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 μg/ml. Whereas thrombolytic activity was determined by clot lysis method. The analgesic activity was conducted in Swiss albino mice at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight by hot plate method and acetic acid induced writhing method. Carrageenan induced rat paw edema method was used to evaluate anti-inflammatory activity. For anti-diarrheal activity castor oil induced method was used at the same dose mentioned earlier. Initial phytochemical study revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, gums, terpenoids, steroids and reducing sugars. The extract possessed significant (p < 0.05-0.001) free radical scavenging properties (IC50 for DPPH scavenging activity is 57.64 64 μg/ml and also contained marked amount of phenols 46.44 ± 1.022 mg/gm (Gallic acid equivalents). In clot lysis activity the extract showed potent lysis capacity (48.41 %). In the hot plate method the extract produced a significant (p < 0.05) dose dependent reduction of thermally induced pain. The extract also showed significant (p < 0.001) inhibition of the total number of writhing produced in the acetic acid induced writhing method. Highest inhibition of writhing was 66 % at dose of 500 mg/kg body weight. In carrageenan induced paw edema test the extract at doses 250 and 500 mg/kg produced significant (p < 0.001) reduction in the volume of paw edema at the 6th hour following its administration. In case of anti-diarrheal activity a dose dependent reduction of fecal dropping was observed. Where the maximum reduction observed at the 2nd hour at 500 mg/kg dose (68.42 %) while the standard drug Loperamide produces 86.76 % reduction of fecal dropping. The findings of our study suggested that the methanol extract of Ixora cuneifolia possess a significant antioxidant, thrombolytic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-diarrheal activity.