Abstract

EVALUATION OF ANALGESIC AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITIES OF VARIOUS SOLVENT EXTRACTS OF MYRISTICA FRAGRANS SEEDS

Muhammad Shaiful Alam Bhuiyan, Md. Saiful Islam, Md. Mamunur Rashid, Md. Salehuddin Ayubee, Farhana Akhter and Mohammed Rahmatullah*

Abstract

Background. Myristica fragrans (Houtt.), belonging to the family Myristaceae, is an evergreen tree whose fruits yield two spices, namely nutmeg and mace. Mace, which is the aril of the fruit, is used in Indonesian traditional medicine as an analgesic. Methanol extract of mace has been shown to be anti-inflammatory. Ethanol extract of the seed (nutmeg) has also been shown to be anti-inflammatory. It was the objective of the present study to determine the analgesic and antiinflammatory activity of various solvent extracts of whole fruits (nutmeg plus mace) in rodent models. Methods: Anti-inflammatory activity of the various extracts was determined by measuring inhibition of carrageenan-induced inflammation of rat’s hind paw. Peripheral analgesic activity was determined through inhibition of intraperitoneally injected acetic acidinduced writhings in mice. Results: In anti-inflammatory tests, crude methanol extracts and subsequent petroleum ether, n-hexane and chloroform fractions at doses of 200 and 400 mg per kg body weight inhibited carrageenan-induced paw edema, respectively, by 88.9, 90.9, 82.7, 86.1, 76.9, 87.5, 79.8, and 88.4%. By comparison, a standard drug, diclofenac sodium, when administered at a dose of 100 mg per kg reduced paw edema by 92.3% compared to control rats. Thus all the solvent fractions of Myristica fragrans fruit demonstrated considerable anti-inflammatory activity. In analgesic activity tests, the above fractions at the same two doses inhibited the number of writhings by 52.6, 57.8, 58.5, 60.7, 40.7, 57.0, 46.7, and 53.3%, respectively. Diclofenac sodium, which is also a standard analgesic drug, reduced the number of writhings by 76.3%. Thus the various extracts possessed analgesic activities but were not effective as diclofenac sodium. Conclusion: The various solvent extracts can be used as anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents and merit potential for further research.

Keywords: Anti-inflammatory, analgesic, Myristica fragrans, pain.