Evaluation of Antioxidant, Analgesic and Antidiarrheal Activities of Methanolic Extract of Litsea monopetala (roxb.) Leaves

Abstract

Antioxidant, analgesic and antidiarrheal activities of Litsea monopetala (LM) leaves extracts were investigated in order to assessment of pharmacological activities. In vitro antioxidant properties, in vivo analgesic and antidiarrheal activities were investigated in this study. Antioxidant plays a remarkable role to protect different kinds of diseases of human by inhibiting free radicals. 1, 1-diphenyl-2picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging was considered to evaluate the antioxidant property. Analgesic and antidiarrheal activities were investigated in acetic acid induced writhing and castor oil induced antidiarrheal method by white albino mice, respectively. Methanolic extract of LM leaves has shown antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 223.22 μg/ml which was compared to the standard ascorbic acid. This extract of LM at a dose of 500 mg/kg showed statistically significantly (p<0.001) and produced 68.75% writhing inhibition of mice while standard diclofenac sodium drug has shown 76.25% inhibition. LM also produced a significant (P<0.01) reduction in the frequency of diarrhea produced by castor oil in mice compared with Loperamide (50 mg/kg) standard. This study clearly supports the medicinal value of LM`s leaves. However, further study is required to find out the active components which are responsible for these activities.