Analgesic Activities of Methanol Extract of <i>Terminalia chebula</i>Fruit

Pain is a sensation which in many cases represents the only symptom for the diagnosis of several disorders. Throughout ages man has used many different remedies for pain relief, among which medicinal herbs are most common due to their efficacy and relative safety due to their natural origin. In present study methanol extract of Terminalia chebula fruit was evaluated for its analgesic effects in albino mice. The extract was prepared using whole dried powdered fruit with seeds in absolute methanol. It was then subjected to rotary evaporator under reduced pressure to get concentrated extract;different doses (300, 500 and 1000 mg/kg) were assessed for analgesic activity by tail immersion technique and acetic acid induced writhing test. Similar doses of Aspirin were used as standard drug (positive control) for comparison. Results of both tail flick method and acetic acid induced writhing test revealed that T. chebula fruit extract possessed varying degree of analgesic activity significant at 300 mg/kg and highly significant at 500 and 1000 mg/kg in comparison to control. The results were almost similar to standard drug. In acetic acid induced writhing test, maximum inhibition of writhing was observed at 1000 mg/kg where the number of writhes decreased from 14.1 to 5.2 indicating 63.1% inhibition. Above findings suggest that T. chebula fruit extract possesses significant analgesic activity in albino mice with reference to positive and negative control groups;however further studies on a large number of animals with clinical trials are required to confirm safe and effective use of this fruit extract in humans for analgesic purpose.

Evaluation of Toxicological Profile of a Polyherbal Formulation

In current study toxicological profile of a commonly used herbal formulation was evaluated that is used extensively for gynecological disorders like menorrhagia, metrorrhagia, leucorrhea, irregular menstrual cycle, pre-menstrual syndrome and post-menopausal bleeding. It was also claimed to strengthen endometrium and ovaries. Since this herbal formulation was been used by a large number of population hence there was a need to assess acute and sub-chronic toxicity. Acute oral toxicity (LD50) was observed in albino mice using standard protocols whereas sub-chronic, hematological and histopathological studies were assessed on 24 albino rabbits after giving herbal formulation for 60 days in two doses (20 and 60 mg/kg) against control groups. The outcomes of present study showed that the drug is safe up to 5000 mg/kg following acute oral toxicity test and no mortality was observed during sub chronic toxicity studies. Results of sub-chronic toxicity did not show any significant changes in biochemical, hematological and histopathological parameters. However, some indicators such as urea, creatinine, hemoglobin, and RBC count were altered, but these changes do not correlate with the histopathological results and may be associated to intra individual variations. Despite the safety of the drug in few animals, clinical trials and more investigations on a large number of animals are essentially needed to establish safety and efficacy of the herbal formulation.