Phytochemical Screening, Toxicity, Analgesic and Anti-Pyretic Studies of Aqueous Leaf Extract of <i>Plectranthus barbatus</i>[Andrews. Engl.] in Rats

Plectranthus barbatus is a popular tropical perennial plant with a wide variety of traditional medicinal uses in tropical Africa, Hindu, Ayurvedic and traditional medicines of Brazil and China. The whole plant and the leaves have many folkloric uses for diverse ailments including pain, heart disease, convulsions, coughs and colds, asthma, bronchitis and tonsillitis among others. This study investigated the phytochemical components, acute toxicity, analgesic and anti-pyretic activities of the aqueous leaf extract of Plectranthus barbatus locally known as Ekizeera in Uganda. The plant leaves were authenticated, collected and decoction was done according to local method. Phytochemical screening was conducted using methods outlined by Trease and Evans and Harborne to determine the components of the extract. Acute toxicity tests were conducted in rats using modified Lorke’s method to determine the safety of the plant material. Analgesic studies were carried out using both a mechanical method (thermally induced pain by tail-flick) and a chemical method (formalin induced pain) in rats by administering extracts orally at 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of body weight. The method of Al-Ghamdi, modified for local laboratory setting by Adzu was adopted and used for anti-pyretic test. Decoction yielded 9.9% extract. Phytochemical screening confirmed presence of saponins, tannins, alkaloids, terpenoids and essential oils. Acute toxicity tests revealed no deaths in rats after oral treatment with up to 10,000 mg/kg of extract. Tail-flick test was non-significant (p > 0.05) while formalin-induced pain test demonstrated significant activity (p -tests. Anti-pyretic activity was non-significant (p > 0.05) with student t-test. These results suggest that the aqueous leaf extract of Plectranthus barbatus contains specific phytochemicals, has a potent dose dependent analgesic activity, no anti-pyretic activity and can be regarded as a safe medicinal plant to use traditionally, which might further be developed for conventional medical practice.

Xiyanping injection therapy for children with mild hand foot and mouth disease:a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical effects of Xiyan-ping injection intervention in pediatric patients with mild hand foot and mouth disease(HFMD).METHODS: A total of 329 patients were stratified and block-randomized for symptomatic treatment of HFMD and assigned to one of the following groups: Western Medicine(group A, n = 103), Xiyanping injection(group B, n = 109), or Xiyanping injection and symptomatic treatment using Western Medicine(group C, n = 117). During the trial, fever,rash, ulcers of the mouth were observed among participants in each group before and after treatment, and conversion rates from mild to severe HFMD were measured.RESULTS: After 3-7 days' treatment, no significant differences in the conversion rates from mild to severe HFMD were observed among the three groups(P > 0.05). There was a significantly low number of patients with the onset time of antifebrile effect,vanished time of hand and foot rashes and cumulative time for the ulcers in the mouth vanished,among the three groups(P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The onset time of antifebrile effect of patients in groups B and C were markedly shorter compared with those in group A(P < 0.05, P < 0.01); there was no statically significant difference observed between groups B and C(P > 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the time for body temperature recovery among the three groups(P > 0.05). There were no significant differences in adverse effects among the three groups(P > 0.05).CONCLUSION: Xiyanping injection together with use of Western Medicine is most effective for symptomatic treatment of mild HFMD. No severe adverse reactions were observed.

Quality evaluation of heat stress treated Radix saposhnikoviae using pharmacokinetic and pharmacologic methods

The quality of Radix saposhnikoviae（RS） had deteriorated due to the adoption of cultivated plants rather than wild plants. High temperature treatment increases the content of several chromones, however using one or more individual constituents would be difficult to determine the medical quality of RS. In this paper, we used pharmacokinetic and pharmacologic approaches to evaluate the quality of RS. The active constituents were analysed using pharmacokinetic parameters of the chromone derivatives, and the antipyretic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory effects were evaluated by pyretic animal model, hot plate test, and ear edema model, respectively. Only cimifugin was found in plasma after RS and heat-stress-RS were administered to rats, with a 50.6% increase in AUC0–24 h of cimifugin in the latter. Likewise, more potent anti-pyretic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory activities were also found in the latter. Exposure of S. divaricata fresh roots to high temperatures enhanced the antipyretic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory effects of RS by promoting the absorption of cimifugin.