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Indian Journal of Natural Products and Resources
Vol. 1(1), March 2010, pp. 5-10
Anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-lipid peroxidative effects of Rhaphidophora
pertusa (Roxb.) Schott. and Epipremnum pinnatum (Linn.) Engl. aerial parts
A Linnet1, PG Latha1*, MM Gincy2, GI Anuja1, SR Suja1, S Shyamal1, VJ Shine1,
S Sini1, P Shikha1, Mathew Dan1 and S Rajasekharan1
1Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Palode
Thiruvananthapuram-695 562, Kerala, India
2Karpagam Arts and Science College, Coimbatore-641 021, Tamil Nadu, India
Received 14 July 2008; Accepted 28 April 2009
The ethanol extracts of aerial parts of Rhaphidophora pertusa (Roxb.) Schott. and Epipremnum pinnatum (Linn.) Engl.
(Family-Araceae) were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activity in Wistar albino rats and analgesic effects in Swiss
albino mice. Both the species produced significant inhibition of carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema when compared to the
standard drug Indomethacin .They also showed a significant inhibition of acetic acid-induced writhing in mice at all the
doses studied. The analgesic effect of R. pertusa was almost similar to that caused by the standard drug, aspirin. The ethanol
extracts also showed significant anti-lipid peroxidant effects in vitro in rat liver homogenate. The acute toxicity study
indicated that R. pertusa and E. pinnatum are fairly non-toxic. The results of the present study support the use of R. pertusa
in traditional medicine of Kerala as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic agent and E. pinnatum may be included in the same
category of medicinal plants.
Keywords : Rhaphidophora pertusa, Epipremnum pinnatum, Anti-inflammatory, Analgesic, Lipid peroxidation, Traditional
medicine, Anathipali.
IPC code; Int. cl.8—A61K 36/00, A61P 3/06, A61P 29/00.
Introduction
Herbal therapy although still an unwritten science
is well established in some cultures and traditions and
has become a way of life of almost 80% of the people
in rural areas. Inflammatory and arthritic conditions
are among those treated using traditional remedies,
with considerable success.
Chronic inflammatory diseases including
rheumatoid arthritis are still one of the main health
problems of the world’s population. Although several
modern drugs are used to treat these types of
disorders, their prolonged use may cause severe
adverse side effects on chronic administration1, the
most common being gastrointestinal bleeding and
peptic ulcers2. Consequently there is a need to
develop new anti-inflammatory agents with minimum
side effects.
It is worthwhile to note that most of the present day
analgesic drugs also exert a wide range of side
effects3. Study of plant species that are traditionally
used as pain killers should still be seen as a logical
and fruitful research strategy, in the search of
analgesic drugs4.
Rhaphidophora pertusa (Roxb.) Schott. (Family-
Araceae) is an attractive climber, cultivated
throughout India as an ornamental plant. It is locally
called as Anathipali or Elithadi5. The leaves, stem and
seeds of the plant have medicinal use. In traditional
medicine of Kerala its leaves are used to treat
inflammatory conditions. The juice of the plant with
black pepper is used extensively in traditional
medicine as an antidote against the bite of Russell’s
Viper6. The juice of the plant along with juices of
Croton oblongifolius Roxb. roots and fruits of
Momordica charantia Linn. is applied to the bitten
part. A perusal of literature revealed that although
R. pertusa is widely used in traditional medicine as an
anti-inflammatory and analgesic agent, these properties
have not yet been scientifically evaluated (Fig. 1).
Epipremnum pinnatum (Linn.) Engl. (syn.
Rhaphidophora pinnatifida Linn.) is another closely
related Araceae member, from the Andamans
——————
*Correspondent author:
E-mail: lathagopalakrishnan@yahoo.com
Phone: 0472-2869226(O)
INDIAN J NAT PROD RESOUR, MARCH 2010
6
collected by the scientists of the Institute during one
of their plant exploration trips and established in
the herbal garden of the Institute. Not much
information is available about its medicinal use to
treat inflammation and pain. It is likely that when
bioactive compounds are found in one species, more
species of the same genus may contain active
compounds of a similar nature7. Prompted by this
fact it was considered interesting to scientifically
validate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects
of E. pinnatum also. The present study was therefore,
undertaken to evaluate and compare the anti-
inflammatory and analgesic properties of these two
plants (Fig.2).
Materials and Methods
Plant materials
The aerial parts of both the plants were collected
from the herbal garden of the Institute during January,
2006.They were authenticated by Dr Mathew Dan,
plant taxonomist of the Institute and voucher
specimens were preserved for future reference
in the Herbarium of the Institute (TBGT 57007 dtd
21/1/2006 and TBGT 57008 dtd 24/1/2006).
Preparation of the plant extracts
The aerial parts were washed thoroughly with tap
water, shade-dried and powdered. The powder (60g)
of each of the two plant species was successively
extracted separately with ethanol (600ml) overnight,
at room temperature with constant stirring. The
extracts were filtered and the filtrates were
concentrated at 30°C under reduced pressure in a
rotary evaporator. The yield (w/w) of the crude
extracts was found to be 16.5% for R. pertusa and
18% for E. pinnatum. The crude extracts were
suspended in 0.5% Tween-80 to required
concentrations and used for the experiments. R.
pertusa extract was referred to as RP and E. pinnatum
extract as EP.
Experimental animals
Wistar albino male rats (175-220g) and Swiss
albino mice (27-35g), were grouped and housed in
polyacrylic cages (two animals per cage) and
maintained under standard laboratory conditions
(temperature 24-28°C, relative humidity 60-70%
and 12h light dark cycles). They were fed commercial
rat feed (Lipton India Ltd, Mumbai) and boiled
water, ad libitum. All experiments involving
animals were done according to NIH guidelines,
after getting the approval of the Institute’s Animal
Ethics Committee.
Carrageenan-induced paw oedema in rats
Anti-inflammatory activity of RP and EP was
assessed by carrageenan induced paw oedema
method8. Rats were divided into 6 groups (6 animals
in each group). Animals of all the groups were
injected with 0.1 ml of 1% carrageenan in 0.9%
normal saline, under the plantar aponeurosis of
the right hind paw. Group I animals (carrageenan
control) received p.o., 0.5% of Tween-80, 30 min
prior to carrageenan injection. Group II, the
standard reference group was given p.o., an aqueous
solution of Indomethacin (5mg/kg), 30 min prior to
Fig. 1—Rhaphidophora pertusa
Fig. 2—Epipremnum pinnatum branch with inflorescence
LINNET et al.: EFFECTS OF RHAPHIDOPHORA PERTUSA & EPIPREMNUM PINNATUM
7
carrageenan injection. Groups III and IV received
p.o., 125 and 250mg/kg of RP, 30 min prior to
carrageenan injection. Groups V and VI received EP
(125 and 250 mg/kg p.o.), 30 min prior to carrageenan
injection. The paw volume was measured
plethysmographically just before and 3h after
carrageenan injection. The percentage inhibition of
oedema was calculated for each group with respect
to its vehicle treated control group.
Acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice
Analgesia of RP and EP was assessed by the
writhing test in mice9. Mice were divided into 6
groups (6 animals in each group). All the groups
received i.p., 0.5% aqueous solution of acetic acid
(10ml/kg). Group I, acetic acid control group received
a single dose of 0.5% Tween-80 (0.5ml) p.o., 20 min
prior to the administration of acetic acid. Group II,
the standard control group received p.o., a single dose
of aspirin (acetyl salicylic acid, 25mg/kg), 20 min
prior to administration of acetic acid. Groups III and
IV received p.o., a single dose of 125 and 250 mg/kg
RP, 20 min prior to administration of acetic acid.
Groups V and VI received 125 and 250 mg/kg
of EP p.o., 30 min prior to the administration of
acetic acid. The number of writhes (full extension of
hind limb) per animal was recorded during the 20 min
period, beginning 5 min after the injection of
acetic acid.
In vitro anti-lipid peroxidation studies
The antilipid peroxidant effect of RP and EP was
studied in vitro following the modified methods of
Yoshiyuki et al10 and Masao et al11. The rat liver
tissue (2g) was sliced and homogenated with 150mM
KCL-Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.2). The reaction mixture
(in triplicate) was composed of 0.25ml liver
homogenate, Tris-HCl buffer (pH7.2), o.1 mM
ascorbic acid (AA), 4mM FeCl2 and 0.05 ml of
various concentrations of extracts (25, 50, 100,
200µg/ml). The mixture was incubated at 37°C for 1h
in capped tubes. Then, 0.5 ml of 0.1N HCl, 0.2 ml of
9.8% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), 0.9 ml of
distilled water and 2ml of 0.6% thiobarbituric acid
(TBA) were added to each tube and the tubes were
vigorously shaken. Following this, all the tubes were
placed in a boiling water bath at 100°C for 30 min.
After cooling, the flocculent precipitate was removed
by adding 5ml of n-butanol, mixed well and
centrifuged at 1500 rpm for 20 min. The absorbance
of the supernatant was measured at 532 nm.
Behavioral and toxic effects12
Three groups of 10 mice each were administered
p.o., 125, 250 and 500mg/kg of the RP or EP extract.
The animals were observed continuously for 1h for
any gross behavioural changes, symptoms of toxicity
and mortality, if any and intermittently for the next
6h and then again, 24h after dosing with RP or EP
extract.
Statistical analysis13
Statistical comparison between control and treated
groups was made using analysis of variance, followed
by multiple comparisons.
Results
Anti-inflammatory activity
The amount of oedema produced was quantitated
after 3h of carrageenan injection. The group treated
with Indomethacin (5mg/kg) showed maximum
inhibition of oedema formation (83.33%). RP and
EP at both doses (125 and 250mg/kg) studied
significantly inhibited the carrageenan-induced paw
oedema in rats i.e. 83.33 and 80.01% (RP), 76.66 and
66.66% (EP), respectively. The Indomethacin group
and RP at 125mg/kg showed equal amount of
inhibition of oedema formation. In the case of both
RP and EP, increasing the dose further did not
significantly increase the anti-inflammatory effects
(Table 1).
Analgesic activity
Intraperitonial injection of acetic acid produced
32.0 ± 0.02 writhes in the control group, 20 min after
injection. The per cent inhibition of writhing by
groups pretreated with RP (125 and 250 mg/kg)
and aspirin treated group (25mg/kg) was almost
similar, i.e.92.80, 90.30 and 93.12%, respectively.
EP (125, 250mg/kg) was less effective than RP in
eliciting the analgesic response (67.50 and 62.50%),
Table 1—Effect of R. pertusa (RP) and E. pinnatum (EP) extract
on carrageenan-induced paw oedema in rats
Treatment Oral dose
(mg/kg)
Difference in
paw volume at
3h (ml)
Percentage
inhibition of
oedema
Carrageenan control _ 0.30 ± 0.03 _
Indomethacin 5 0.05 ±0.01 83.33**
RP 125 0.05 ±0.01 83.33**
RP 500 0.06 ±0.02 80.01**
EP 125 0.07 ±0.01 76.66**
EP 500 010 ±0.04 66.66**
Values are the mean ± S.D. n=6; ANOVA **P≤ 0.01 vs Carrageenan
control
INDIAN J NAT PROD RESOUR, MARCH 2010
8
though it exhibited significant analgesic effects,
compared to the acetic acid control group (Table 2).
In vitro lipid peroxidation
There was significant increase of malondialdehyde
(MDA) in FeCl2-AA treated rat liver homogenate,
compared to normal control without FeCl2-AA. RP
and EP showed very potent inhibition of FeCl2-AA
stimulated rat liver lipid peroxidation in vitro at
100µg/ml dose. All the other doses studied did not
produce significant anti-lipid peroxidation effects
in vitro (Table 3).
In the toxicity study, no mortality occurred within
24 h with the 3 doses of RP or EP tested. The LD50, of
both RP and EP was therefore, greater than 500mg/kg
p.o., in mice (data not shown).
Discussion
Inflammation is a complex process and various
mediators, eg. prostaglandins, leucotrienes, kinins,
platelet activating factor, etc have been reported to
be involved in the development of inflammatory
diseases. Carrageenan assay is well suited for
comparative bioassay of anti-inflammatory agents,
since the relative potency estimates obtained from
most drugs tend to reflect clinical experience8. The
time course of oedema development in carrageenan
induced paw oedema model in rats is generally
represented by a biphasic curve14. The first phase
occurs within an hour of injection and is partly due to
the trauma of injection and also due to the serotonin
component15. Prostaglandins play a major role in
the development of the second phase of reaction
which is measured around 3h time16. The presence of
prostaglandin in the inflammatory exudates from the
injected foot can be demonstrated17. The carrageenan
induced paw oedema model in rats is known to be
sensitive to cyclooxygenase inhibitors and has
been used to evaluate the effect of non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory agents which primarily inhibit
cyclooxygenase involved in prostaglandin synthesis18.
Based on these reports, it is inferred that the
inhibitory effect of RP and EP on carrageenan-
induced inflammation in rats may be due to inhibition
of the enzyme cyclooxygenase, leading to inhibition
of prostaglandin synthesis.
Acetic acid-induced writhing response in mice is
a simple and reliable model to evaluate peripheral
type of analgesic action of herbal and other drugs
rapidly. It was found that RP and EP significantly
inhibited the acetic acid induced writhing response at
125 mg/kg showing 93 and 67% of inhibition of
writhing. It has been reported that the abdominal
constriction is related to the sensitization of
nociceptive receptors to prostaglandins19. Therefore, it
is possible that RP and EP exert the analgesic effect
probably by inhibiting synthesis or action of
prostaglandins.
RP and EP significantly inhibited in vitro
lipid peroxidation in rat liver homogenate. It has
become evident that non-enzymatic or unspecified
lipid peroxidation occurs during experimental
inflammation in rats. Lipid peroxides may be
Table 2—Effect of R. pertusa (RP) and E. pinnatum
(EP) extract
of acetic acid-induced writhing response in mice
Treatment Oral Dose
(mg/kg)
Mean number
of writhes in
30 min
Percent
inhibition
of writhes
Acetic acid control - 32.0 ± 0.20 -
Acetyl salicylic acid 25 2.2 ± 0.70 93.12**
RP 125 2.3 ± 0.31 92.80**
RP 250 3.1 ± 0.27 90.30**
EP 125 10.4 ± 0.51 67.50**
EP 250 12.0 ± 0.33 62.50**
Values are the mean ± S.D. n=6; ANOVA **P
≤ 0.01 vs acetic acid
control
Table 3—Inhibitory effect of R. pertusa (RP) and E. pinnatum (EP) extract on FeCl2-ascorbic acid- induced lipid peroxidation
in rat liver homogenate in vitro
Groups Plant extract concentration (µg/ml)
MDA (n mol/mg protein) MDA inhibition (%)
Normal control - 1.35 ±0.01 -
FeCl2-AA control - 2.31 ± 0.02 -
FeCl2-AA + RP 25 1.52 ± 0.09 34.19
FeCl2-AA + RP 50 1.29 ± 0.07 44.15
FeCl2-AA + RP 100 0.07 ± 0.02 96.97**
FeCl2-AA + RP 200 1.69 ± 0.01 26.84
FeCl2-AA + EP 25 2.16 ± 0.03 6.49
FeCl2-AA + EP 50 2.07 ± 0.04 10.39
FeCl2-AA + EP 100 0.17 ± 0.03 92.64**
FeCl2-AA + EP 200 1.45 ± 0.01 37.20
Values are the mean ±S.D. n=3; ANOVA **P≤0.01 vs FeCl
2
-AA control
LINNET et al.: EFFECTS OF RHAPHIDOPHORA PERTUSA & EPIPREMNUM PINNATUM
9
pro-inflammatory and can damage tissues directly20.
Protection against free radical-induced lipid
peroxidation by plant extracts is of great significance
for their traditional use against inflammatory
disorders, many of which are associated with
membrane damage and tissue recovery21. There is
abundant evidence that peroxidative decomposition of
structural lipids in cellular and subcellular membrane
is catastrophic in a living system. Lipid peroxidation
results in mitochondrial swelling and disintegration22.
Disintegration of lysosomes has been correlated
with the peroxidative decomposition of lysosomal
lipids23. It can therefore, be concluded from the
present study that the beneficial effects of RP and EP
may be from their role in the stabilization of
lysosomes. The combination of anti-inflammatory
and analgesic effects of RP and EP indicate the
likelihood of intervention of prostaglandin synthesis
as prostaglandins have been established as a common
mediator in all these responses. However, this
possibility remains to be investigated in detail.
The acute toxicity study indicated that RP and EP
are fairly non-toxic. This is not surprising, as R.
pertusa is being used in traditional medicine of Kerala
as an antidote and anti-inflammatory agent.
The active compounds responsible for the anti-
inflammatory and analgesic activites of R. pertusa
and E. pinnatum remain to be identified. A perusal of
literature revealed the paucity of phytochemical
studies on these two plant species. Preliminary
phytochemical studies at our laboratory indicated the
presence of tannins in them. Earlier reports showed
the latex of Calotropis procera (Ait.) R. Br.,
containing tannins showed potent anti-inflammatory
effects24. Betula pendula Roth and Corylus avellana
Linn. having very high tannin content showed
remarkable anti-inflammatory activity25. Volatile oils,
resins, flavonoids and terpenoids isolated from
plant extracts are known to produce anti-
inflammatory and analgesic effects26. Condensed
tannin and polysaccharides are known for the anti-
inflammatory effects of Rumex acetosa Linn. and
Rumex patientia Linn.27. It is likely that R. pertusa
and E. pinnatum may contain some or most of the
above mentioned phytocompounds which are
responsible for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic
effects. Detailed studies are warranted in this
direction to decipher the exact nature of the
phytochemical compounds responsible for their anti-
inflammatory and analgesic effects.
Conclusion
The findings of this study have demonstrated that
R. pertusa and E. pinnatum possess potent anti-
inflammatory and analgesic activity. The results also
furnish evidence that the beneficial effects of both the
species may be from their role in the stabilization of
lysosomes and free radical scavenging.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Dr S Ganeshan,
Director, TBGRI, for facilities, Mr S Radhakrishna
Pillai for technical assistance and Mr. K P Pradeep
Kumar for photographic assistance.
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