@article {779, title = {Analgesic activity and acute toxicity study of Semecarpus anacardium stem bark extracts using mice}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Research}, volume = {3}, year = {2011}, month = {April 2011}, pages = { 57-61}, type = {Original Article}, chapter = { 57}, abstract = {

Background:\ The analgesic activity of petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol extracts of\ Semecarpus anacardium\ was investigated by tail flicking and writhing method using acetyl salicylic acid as the standard reference.\ Materials and Methods:\ The staircase method was adopted for the determination of the acute toxicity. LD\ 50\ of the petroleum ether extract and the chloroform extract was 700 mg/kg; however, the LD\ 50\ for the methanol extract was 500 mg/kg. After 1 h of oral administration of the extracts, 0.6\% acetic acid was administered intraperitoneally and the analgesic activity was evaluated.\ Results:\ The number of writhing observed in the control group was 73.33 writhes. The methanol extract showed a significant analgesic activity, with 28.33 writhes, than the petroleum ether extract and the chloroform extract. But, all the extracts showed proved to be less potent than the standard drug which showed 2.33 writhes. Animals pretreated with saline did not show a signify cant effect on the latent period of tail-flick response. The analgesic effect of the petroleum ether extract was comparatively less evident. The maximum possible analgesia (MPA) increased up to 9.1\% which remained elevated above the basal levels throughout the observation period. The MPA calculated for the chloroform extract increased to 14.03\%. However, the analgesic effect of the methanol extract was also observed at 0.5 h following oral administration and the effect remained significant throughout the 3 h observation period, and was increased to 20.43\%.\ Conclusion:\ Consistent analgesic activity of all the three\ S. anacardium\ extracts was observed by both the methods. The methanol extract was more potent than the petroleum ether and chloroform extracts but was less effective than the standard drug. This investigation supported the ethnomedicinal claims of\ S. anacardium.

}, keywords = {Acute toxicity study, Crude extracts, Tail-flicking method, Writhing method}, doi = {10.4103/0974-8490.79117}, author = {GM Lingaraju and H Joy Hoskeri, V Krishna and P Suresh Babu} } @article {753, title = {Evaluation of acute toxicity and hepatoprotective activity of the methanolic extract of Dichrostachys cinerea (Wight and Arn.) leaves}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Research}, volume = {3}, year = {2011}, month = {April 2011}, pages = {40-43}, type = {Original Article}, chapter = {40}, abstract = {

Background:D. cinerea\ are the chief source of drug compounds that are active against various ailments such as jaundice, inflammations rheumatism, fever, asthma, body ache, chest problems, toothache, ulcers, wounds, eye diseases and have an aphrodisiac property. In present study, It was aimed to test the hepatoprotective activity of the plant.\ Material and Methods:\ The methanolic extract of\ Dichrostachys cinerea\ (Mimoseae) leaves was subjected to evaluation of acute toxicity and hepatoprotective property, using albino mice and rats. The parameters for estimation of liver function, based on serum markers such as total bilirubin, total protein, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase with histopathological profile of the liver tissue, were studied consequently.\ Results:\ The methanolic extract did not show any mortality up to a dose of 3500 mg/kg body weight. The methanolic extract showed significant hepatoprotectivity. The histopathological profile of the drug-treated liver tissue demonstrated similar morphology as that of controls.\ Conclusions:\ Methanolic extract of Dichrostachys cinerea was found to have significant hepatoprotective activity.

}, keywords = {Acute toxicity, carbon tetrachloride induced, Dichrostachys cinerea, Hepatoprotective}, doi = {10.4103/0974-8490.79114}, author = {P Suresh Babu and V Krishna and KR Maruthi and K Shankarmurthy and Ramesh K Babu} }