The in vivo Activity of Fraxinus angustifolia in Pain and Inflammation- Examination of the Biological Activities of the Sub-extracts in Mice

Abstract

: Fraxinus species (Oleaceae) are commonly used in the treatment of several inflammatory conditions with pain, such as rheumatism, arthritis, and gout in folk medicine. We aimed to evaluate this ethnobotanical claim through in vivo experiments. The n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and water subextracts were obtained from the methanolic extract, which was prepared from the bark of Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl. The antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of extracts were evaluated in mice by hot plate and formalin-induced edema assays, respectively. Mice were treated with 5-100 mg/kg methanol crude extract and 100 mg/kg subextracts intraperitoneally. Administration of methanol extract decreased paw thickness in doses of 25 and 100 mg/kg. Water and ethyl acetate subextracts decreased paw thickness while water subextract also decreased paw volume compared with the control. Paw thickness values in the dichloromethane and n-hexane subextract groups and paw volume values in the ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, and n-hexane subextract groups were comparable to those in the control group. The latency values were higher in the groups treated with the dichloromethane and n-hexane subextracts than in the control group while the other subextracts did not change the latency values compared to the control group in the hot plate test. In conclusion, the cortex of Fraxinus angustifolia exhibited a significant in vivo anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activity.