Bioactivity of Boehmeria Macrophylla (Urticaceae) leaf extract

[摘要] Boehmeria macrophylla is a perennial herb used as folk medicine in Bangladesh for the healing of pathologic conditions like fever, trauma, dermatitis, boils etc. After phytochemical screening of ethanolic extract of B. macrophylla (Urticaceae) leaf (BMET), in vitro antioxidant activity was investigated by free radical (DPPH) scavenging assay. Total tannin, phenolic and flavonoid contents were also estimated. Analgesic, cytotoxic and antibacterial activities were evaluated by ‘acetic acid induced writhing inhibition in mice’, ‘brine shrimp lethality bioassay’ and ‘disk diffusion assay’, respectively. Phytochemical screening indicated the presence of alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, saponins, steroids and terpenoids. The extract showed scavenging activity with IC₅₀ value of 39.76 μg/mL whereas IC₅₀ was 6.86 μg/mL for ascorbic acid. The extract also showed the total phenolic, flavonoid and tannin content as 439.48, 356.84 and 395.42 mg QE/100 g of dried plant extract. BMET showed 32.91 % and 54.2 % writhing inhibition in mice at doses 250 and 500 mg/kg, respectively. BMET showed LC₅₀ against brine shrimp nauplii at 33.16 μg/mL. The extract also showed antibacterial activity against Vibrio cholerae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Streptococcus ferus. The results suggest that BMET has antioxidant, analgesic, cytotoxic and antibacterial activities.

[学科分类] 药学

[关键词] Mice