In vitro and in vivo evaluation of pharmacological potentials of Campsis radicans L

Abstract

Abstract Background Campsis radicans L. is a flowering plant in Bangladesh, traditionally used for the treatment of several human diseases. In this study, in vitro antioxidant, thrombolytic, membrane stabilizing and in vivo analgesic, hypoglycemic, anti-diarrheal and CNS antidepressant activities of organic soluble fractions of crude methanol extract of C. radicans leaf were investigated using appropriate experimental models. Methods The leaves of C. radicans were collected, authenticated, dried and extracted with methanol at room temperature for 30 days. The concentrated methanol extract was partitioned to petroleum-ether (PESF), dichloromethane (DMSF) and ethyl acetate (EASF) soluble fractions. The antioxidant activity of these fractions was determined by DPPH free radical scavenging method. Total phenolic content was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteau’s spectrophotometric method. The thrombolytic activity was assessed by measuring clot lysis ability whereas the membrane stabilizing activity was evaluated by heat- and hypotonic solution-induced hemolysis assay. Tail immersion procedure and acetic acid- induced writhing model were used to measure the analgesic activity of C. radicans. The hypoglycemic, anti-diarrheal and CNS antidepressant activities were determined by oral glucose tolerance test, castor oil-induced diarrheal model and thiopental-sodium induced sleeping time test in mice, respectively. Results All the organic soluble fractions of C. radicans contained phenolic compounds varying from 6.38 to 60.13 mg of GAE/gm of extractive, while in DPPH assay, EASF showed the highest free radical scavenging activity with IC50 is 4.69 μg/ml. The PESF exhibited highest thrombolytic activity (57.14% clot lysis) and the DMSF showed maximum 53.95% inhibition of heat-induced hemolysis of human RBCs. In both tail immersion and acetic acid induced writhing models, the PESF, DMSF, EASF at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight, induced a significant (P < 0.001) decrease in the painful sensation in mice. Substantial (P < 0.05) anti-hyperglycemic activity of test samples was found in mice loaded with glucose at the same doses mentioned earlier. Castor oil induced diarrheal test of the plant extractives has shown significant effect in comparison to control group. In CNS antidepressant activity assay, the test samples were able to reduce the duration of sleep in mice caused by thiopental administration. Conclusion All these findings revealed that C. radicans possess significant antioxidant, thrombolytic, membrane stabilizing, analgesic, hypoglycemic, anti-diarrheal and CNS antidepressant activities.

Keywords

• Campsis radicans
• Antioxidant
• Thrombolytic
• Membrane-stabilizing
• Analgesic
• Hypoglycemic