Comparative analysis of analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity of bark and leaves of Acacia ferruginea DC.

The aim of the present study was to investigate and compare the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of hydroalcoholic extracts of bark and leaves of Acacia ferruginea DC. Hydroalcoholic extracts of bark and leaves were evaluated for analgesic activity using hot plate method and acetic acid-induced writhing test, whereas the anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by carrageenan-induced paw oedema method. Hydroalcoholic extract of the bark at the dose of 50 mg/kg (6.10 ± 0.30) and leaves at a dose of 100 mg/kg (5.72 ± 0.39) after 45 min exhibited significant (P < 0.001) analgesic activity in hot plate test, which was comparable to Tramadol (6.11 ± 0.31) at a dose of 10 mg/kg. However, in acetic acid-induced writhing test, hydroalcoholic extract of both bark (90%) and leaves (90.91%) showed maximum protection from acetic acid at the dose of 100 mg/kg as compared to standard drug (50.91%) at a dose of 5 mg/kg. In the evaluation of anti-inflammatory activity, hydroalcoholic extract of leaves at a dose of 400 mg/kg had significantly (74.68%) inhibited the inflammation as comparable to indomethacin (82.8%) after 3 h of induction of carrageenan. It is concluded that hydroalcoholic extracts of bark and leaves have central analgesic and peripheral analgesic effects, respectively. Both hydroalcoholic extracts of the bark and leaves significantly reduced the paw oedema at a dose of 400 mg/kg and exhibited anti-inflammatory activity.