| Abstrakt: |
While access to orthodox medicine is limited in rural areas of most developing countries, access to traditional herbal remedies are easy and cheap. However, several of these remedies lack scientific evidence to support their use. Herein, we investigated the anti-inflammatory, analgesic, phytochemical and GCMS analysis of the aqueous ethanol extract of a polyherbal preparation containing Zingiber officinale, Citrus limon, Aloe vera, Allium sativum and honey used in Southwest Nigeria for the management of pain and inflammatory related conditions. The extract was subjected to acute (OECD) and sub-acute toxicity studies, in-vivo anti-inflammatory (Carrageenan-induced model) and analgesic studies (acetic acid-induced). The extract was further analyzed phytochemically by Gas Chromatography-Mass spectrometry for characterization of its metabolites. This study showed that polyherbal extract is not toxic in vivo, at both acute and subacute levels, and exhibits analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects at various doses of 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg. The GC-MS revealed the presence of important constituents including gingerol, limonene, vitamin E, retinoic acid, palmitic acid, and beta-sitosterol. Findings from this work indicated that the investigated polyherbal extract is safe, produced anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities which may be due to the presence of identified anti-inflammatory compounds. Our findings provide some evidence supporting the use of this anti-inflammatory polyherbal preparation in Nigerian South-west ethnomedicine. Further extensive in-vitro, in-vivo and mechanistic studies are warranted to fully unveil the therapeutic potential of the extract, its lead bioactive compounds, and their possible development into effective anti-inflammatory products for future clinical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
