Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic Properties of Ethanolic Stem Bark Extract of Ficus trichopoda in Rats.

Introduction: Ficus trichopoda is a ficus species growing in wet places - swamp forest, river banks and swamp grassland. It is well used in the management of inflammation - related conditions locally. This present work was undertaken to investigate anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties of aqueous ethanolic extract of Ficus trichopoda bark in rats. Methods: The anti-inflammatory effect was investigated by using the acute inflammatory model of carrageenan - induced paw oedema and its analgesic activity using formalin test and tail flick test in rats. Results: The study for preliminary phytochemical secondary metabolites revealed the presence of saponins, tannins, alkaloids and free amines/amino acids. Oral administration of the aqueous ethanolic extract of F. trichopoda in doses up to 5000 mg/kg body weight did not produce any mortality and any visible signs of toxicity. Ficus trichopoda extract at the doses (125 - 500 mg/kg) showed significant (p < 0.05) dose dependent inhibition of oedema formation in the carregeenan induced model. The extract showed significant dose dependent inhibition of the inflammatory (late) phase but not the neurogenic (early) phase of the formalin test in rats. The analgesic activity in tail flick method showed significant (p < 0.05) elevation in pain latency threshold from 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes after pretreatment. Conclusion: The results obtained suggest marked analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity of ethanolic extract (125 - 500 mg/kg). This finding supports that the stem bark is useful in inflammatory and painful conditions.