Analgesic and neuropharmacological activities of the ethanolic extract of leaves of Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.)Pers. in Swiss Albino mice

Abstract

Kalanchoe pinnata(Lam.) Pers. (Family:Crassulacea ), locally known as ‘Pathorkuchi’, is a medicinal herb, which has a good reputation in Bangladesh, India and many other countries of the world as a folk medicine for the treatment of a variety of diseases of different etiology such as infections, rheumatism and inflammation, traditional treatment for hypertensionand for the treatment of kidney stones. But till to date, sporadic attempts have been made for the scientific and methodical validation of these traditional claims. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate analgesic, sedative and anxiolytic properties of ethanolic fractions of the leaf of K.pinnata. Analgesic potential of ethanolic fractions of leaf of K.pinnata(Lam.) Pers.was evaluated for peripheral pharmacological actions using acetic acid-induced writhing and Formalin induced persistent pain test. The fraction, at the doses of 400 mg/kg body weight, displayed significant analgesic action in a dose dependent manner in the tested models. In addition, sedative and anxiolytic properties of the ethanolic fractions of K.pinnata(Lam.)Pers.was investigated using rodent behavioural models, such as hole cross,open field and elevated plus-maze (EPM) test for anxiolytic potential, respectively. The fraction at dose 400 mg/kg, displayed a dose dependent suppression of motor activity, exploratory behaviour (in hole cross and open field tests). In EPM test, the extract increased exploration to and time spent by the treated mice in EPM open arms in a way similar to that of the reference anxiolytic drug Diazepam.