Bioactivities of Pachypodium lamerei Drake, Family Apocynaceae, Cultivated in Egypt

Aims: The current study estimated the anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, gastroprotective and anti-hyperglycemic activities in various rat models of total methanol extracts (TMEs) of different plant parts; mixture of leaves & stems (MLS) and subterranean organs (SO) and different fractions of TME of MLS of Pachypodium lamerei Drake. Additionally, we evaluated the median lethal dose (LD50) of TME of MLS.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out for nine months in 2012 in the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and the Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Minia University, Minia, Egypt.

Methodology: The preliminary phytochemical screening of TMEs of both MLS and SO of P. lamerei was carried out to determine secondary metabolites in the extracts. The TMEs of both MLS and SO and different fractions of TME of MLS of P. lamerei were used in the current biological study. The pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, gastroprotective, anti-hyperglycemic effects and LD50 were determined in male albino rats using various models.

Results: The phytochemical screening of TMEs of both MLS and SO of P. lamerei contained carbohydrates and/or glycosides, unsaturated sterols and/or triterpenes, flavonoids, saponins and tannins. While, the biological activities are summarized as follows; in the carrageenan-induced paw edema method, TME of MLS had the highest anti-inflammatory activity (***P<0.001), whereas in the yeast-induced pyrexia method, the highest anti-pyretic effect was exerted by TME of SO (***P<0.001). Furthermore, in indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer, TME of SO exerted the most potent gastric protection. Moreover, in the alloxan-induced diabetes method, the most active extract was again TME of SO (***P<0.001). Finally, no toxicological symptoms of TME of MLS of P. lamerei were observed in graded single doses up to 5 gm/kg, during 24 hrs follow-up.

Conclusion: From the aforementioned results, P. lamerei proved to be a promising candidate to be used in the development of various pharmaceutical herbal drugs viz., anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, gastroprotective, anti-hyperglycemic activities, since it exhibited a wide margin of safety.