Analgesic and Antinflammatory Activities of the Root extract of Grewia schweinfurthii and its Constituent and Determination of Nutritional and Antinutritional Compositions of its Fruit
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Date
2023
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The utilization of current treatments can often result in harmful side effects, and cause patients to
experience pain and inflammation. In Ethiopian, traditional healers have relied on medicinal
herbs, such as Grewia schweinfurthii, which possess analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties.
Despite their widespread use, studies regarding the nutritional content of wild edible plants
(WEPs) in low-income nations like Ethiopia are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the
analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of 80% methanolic root extract of G. schweinfurthii and
its chemical constituents, as well as to examining the nutritional and antinutritional content of its
fruit. The root extract of G. schweinfurthii and its constituents were evaluated for their analgesic
activity using acetic acid-induced writhing and hot plate tests. The root extract was subjected to
column chromatography (silica gel) to isolate a compound coded as AL-03 and tentatively
identified as 4-(2''-(4'-isopropylphenyl) propan-2''-yl)-2,3-dihydrofuran based on spectroscopic
(1H, 13C NMR & HSQC) data. The root extract G. schweinfurthii demonstrated significant
analgesic activity (p < 0.001) in the acetic acid-induced writhing test at doses of 200 and 400
mg/kg. Additionally, in the hot plate method, a dose of 400 mg/kg of root extract showed
noteworthy analgesic activity (p < 0.001). In the carrageenan-induced acute inflammation model,
all doses (100, 200, 400 mg/kg) of the root extract resulted in a significant decrease in paw
edema compared to the negative control. Compound AL-03 also exhibited antinflammatory
activities in a dose-dependent manner against carrageenan-induced paw edema.
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Proximate analysis was used to assess various nutritional parameters of G. schweinfurthii fruit,
including crude protein, fat, total ash, crude fiber, and carbohydrates. In this regard, G.
schweinfurthii fruit revealed the following composition: moisture (4.09 ± 0.10%); crude protein
(11.24 ± 0.68%); fat (1.99 ± 0.01%); total ash (5.36 ± 0.20%); crude fiber (32.50 ± 0.50%);
carbohydrate (44.82 ± 0.82%); and total energy (242.12 ± 1.72 kcal). Furthermore, phytate
(62.97 ± 0.83%), tannin (3.97 ± 0.12%), and oxalate (0.28 ± 0.03%) were identified as
antinutritional components. Overall, G. schweinfurthii fruit was found to be a reliable source of
nutrients and bioactive compounds. The findings support the traditional medicinal use of the
plant for analgesic and antinflammatory activities. Further research is recommended to explore
additional bioactive compounds from the root extract of G. schweinfurthii and to analyze the
mineral composition, such as amino acids, and vitamin C content of G. schweinfurthii fruit, as
well as to conduct sub-acute and chronic toxicology testing
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Keywords
Grewia schweinfurthii, analgesic, antinflammatory, hot plate, carrageenan-induced paw edema, nutritional, antinutritional