Comparison of the Anti-asthmatic Potential of Himalayan Plants Lonicera obovata Royle and Morina longifolia Wall: An in vivo Study

Background: Asthma is a very common and chronic disease in which there is an inflammation of the lungs. Inflammatory airways and narrowing, spasms, over-secretion of mucus, bronchoconstriction, and eosinophilic airway inflammation are generally seen in the asthmatic condition. Globally, its prevalence is rising constantly. The extracts of Lonicera obovata and Morina longifolia of the Caprifoliaceae family were traditionally used by the Himalayan local people to treat asthmatic and inflammatory conditions. Objectives: The goal of this experimental study was to identify the phytochemicals of the plants through GC-MS. To investigate and compare the anti-asthmatic potential of methanolic whole plant extracts of L. obovata and methanolic root extracts of M. longifolia through in-vivo experiments. Materials and Methods: The anti-asthmatic potential of extracts was determined by the method of leukocytosis and eosinophilia induced by milk in the Swiss albino mice model. Results: Various secondary active phytoconstituents were detected through the GC-MS screening method, some of which have anti-allergic (anti-asthmatic) and antihistaminic properties. The in vivo experiment result showed that in the case of increased leukocyte count, M. longifolia shows better results than L. obovata, and in the case of increased eosinophil count, L. obovata shows better results than M. longifolia to reduce the increased count. Conclusion: The anti-asthmatic potential of plant extracts could be due to the presence of the phytoconstituents like 1-Monolinoleoylglycerol trimethylsilyl ether in the L. obovata extracts and Octadec-9-enoic acid and Cis-vaccenic acid in both L. obovata and M. longifolia extracts. Hence, through the experiments, the unexplored anti-asthmatic properties were revealed and justifies the traditional usage of both plants to treat asthma.