Determination of Analgesic & CNS Activity of Chloroform Extract of Ixora coccinea

Abstract

Recently worldwide different researches on medicinal plants have grabbed attention. A number of experiments were found where medicinal plants have been used for different complementary and traditional systems to promote newer and safer drugs. Keep this in mind the current study was designed to find out CNS depressant and analgesic principles from chloroform solvent extracts of Ixora coccinea. The traditional use of this plant is in the treatment of dysentery, leucorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, haemoptysis and catarrhal bronchitis. It is also claimed that the plant is a good reservoir of such compounds which have the possibility to be a better source of CNS depressant and analgesic therapeutic agents in living organism. In this study, above mentioned pharmacological activities of the experimental plant extract was checked in swiss albino mice. By the open field and hole cross method, CNS depressant activity was inspected with the decline of locomotor activity on mice. Analgesic activity was evaluated by acetic acid induced pain method. Here chloroform extract of Ixora coccinea were administered to mice at a dose of 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg. All the results of the experiments were statistically significant (p<0.001). In CNS depressant activity tests, the movement of mice decreased in a dose depending manner comparing to the standard diazepam. The experimental extracts also gave good analgesic effect comparing to control group and represented by decreased amount of writhes in acetic acid induced pain method. Percent inhibition is 30.43% for 200 mg/kg body weight and 37.46% (p < 0.05) for 400 mg/kg body weight, whereas for Standard drug (Indomethacin) the percent inhibition is 86.96% (p < 0.001) for 10 mg/kg body weight. In conclusion it can be said that chloroform extract of Ixora coccinea possesses good CNS depressant as well as analgesic activity.