Abstract

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF THE COMBINATION OF AQUEOUS EXTRACTS OF THE BARK OF MUSANGA CECROPIOIDES (CECROPIACEAE) AND FRUITS OF PICRALIMA NITIDA (APOCYNACEAE)

Koube Juliette*, Guiama Valentin Désiré, Omam Omam Jean Pierre, Essongue Théophile, Etame-Loe Gisèle Marie and Dibong Siegfried Didier

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Abstract

Musanga cecropioides (Cecropiaceae) and Picralima nitida (Apocynaceae) are nutraceutics plants widely used in tropical pharmacopoeia. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of Musanga cecropioides barks and Picralima nitida fruits in combination. The combination of aqueous extracts of Musanga cecropioides and Picralima nitida was carried out according to the proportions 50/50, 70/30 and 30/70. The evaluation of the anti-inflammatory activity was demonstrated firstly by an in-vitro test according to the denaturation of hen egg albumin at concentrations of 50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 μg/ml, and secondly by an in-vivo test according to the carrageenan-induced swelling of the paw on an animal model, at concentrations of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg. The results of the phytochemical screening show that the extracts obtained contain the following families of compounds: alkaloids, sterols, phenols, flavonoids, anthraquinons, saponins and tannins. The combination of the aqueous extracts in 70/30 proportion significantly inhibits the denaturation of albumin (75.07%) compared to each extract. The similar effect was observed on oedema with a maximum at the third hour (71.27%). The combination of Musanga cecropioides bark extracts and Picralima nitida mature fruits optimizes the anti-inflammatory activity.

Keywords: Musanga cecropioides, Picralima nitida, combination, protein denaturation, oedema, anti-inflammatory activity