Antioxidant Activity, Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Effects of Caralluma europaea (Eddaghmouss) in Mice

Abstract

The aim of the current study is to evaluate the antiinflammatory, antioxidant and analgesic properties of ethanolic (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) and ethyl acetate extracts (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) of Caralluma europaea. Formalin-induced paw licking test, Acetic Acid induced Writhing Test and Hot-PlateTest were used to assess the analgesic activity. Xylene-induced ear edema test was used to evaluate anti-inflammatory activity of those extracts. In this work, the High-Performance Liquid Chromatography technique (HPLC), allowed us to identify and quantify the main phenolic compounds present in ethanolic and ethyl acetate extracts. In vitro anti-oxidant propriety was evaluated using two methods, the 2,2-Diphenyl-1Picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method and reducing power methods. The main phenols identified were Catechin (24%) and quercetin (18%) in ethanolic extract, while in the ethyl acetate extract, they were quercetin (36%), Pcoumaric (30%) and 2-hydroxycinnamic (25%). Analysis of our results had shown that Caralluma europaea extracts had exhibited a very potent analgesic activity. Percentage of Pain Inhibition (PPI) in the writhing test, 63.60±4.24% for the Ethanolic Extract (EE) (200 mg/kg, p.o.) and 65.39±3.27% for the Ethyl Acetate Extract (EAE). The PPI of early and late phase in the formalin test were respectively, 41% and 73% for EAE (200 mg/kg; p.o), 28% and 75% for EE. In the hotplate test, latency to the thermal stimuli was increased in a dose dependent manner after the administration of EE and EAE. However, the analgesic potential of EAE seems to be higher than EE. Both EE and EAE presented a significant in vitro redox potential and high antiinflammatory activity. Our results have shown that Caralluma europaea is rich in phenolic compounds and possesses an important antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activity.

Phenolic Composition, Wound Healing, Antinociceptive, and Anticancer Effects of Caralluma europaea Extracts

“…Oral administration of hydroethanolic, polyphenols, flavonoids, and saponins extracts of C. europaea at the doses of 100, 50, 15, and 10 mg/kg, respectively, significantly reduced the amount of time spent licking the injected paw in both phases ( Figure 5 ). These results are in accordance with a previous study reporting that pretreatment with ethanolic extract of C. europaea at the doses of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg significantly reduced both phases of formalin nociceptive response [ 31 ].…”

“…The antinociceptive activity of the C. europaea extracts was evaluated using two methods: the writhing test conducted to examine the peripheral antinociceptive effect, and the formalin test used to explore peripheral and central mechanisms [ 31 ].…”

“…The inhibition percentage (IP) of the nociceptive response was calculated as follows [ 31 ]: where NC: Number of contortions of the control group; NT: Number of contortions of treated groups.…”

“…The time spent licking the injected paw was considered as indicative of nociceptive behavior. The quantification of nociceptive behavior consists of two successive phases: the early phase response peaked 5 min after formalin injection and the late response peaked 15–30 min after formalin injection [ 31 ]. The animals were pre-treated orally one hour beforehand as follows: Group 1: Negative control (0.9% NaCl); Group 2: Positive control (Tramadol); Group 3: Hydroethanolic extract (100 mg/kg); Group 4: Polyphenols extract (50 mg/kg); Group 5: Flavonoids extract (15 mg/kg); Group 6: Saponins extract (10 mg/kg) …”

A review of Moroccan medicinal plants used in the treatment of inflammation

“…Secondary metabolites like flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, tannins, coumarins, and essential oils are considered alternative traditional herbal remedies (Guimarães et al, 2012;Lima et al, 2013;Srinivasan et al, 2001). Morocco (Figure 1) is known for its climate diversity, and richness in medicinal plants, many of which are used to treat inflammation (Amrati et al, 2021;Benayad et al, 2014;Bouyahya et al, 2021;Derouich et al, 2020;El Azhary et al, 2017;El Kharraf et al, 2021;Hmidani et al, 2019;Jawhari et al, 2020;Kebbou et al, 2019;Khouya et al, 2015Manouze et al, 2017;Mechchate et al, 2021;Moutia et al, 2016;Zouhri et al, 2017) Not witstanding its importance, there are no reviews on anti-inflammatory activity in Morocco. In this context, the purpose of this first research is to identify ethnobotanical studies that can reveal plants used to treat inflammation in different regions of Morocco.…”