Anti-allergic activity of standardized extract ofAlbizia lebbeckwith reference to catechin as a phytomarker

Pichairajan Venkatesha, Pulok K. Mukherjee*a, Nanjappan Satheesh Kumara, Arun Bandyopadhyayb, Hiroyuki Fukuic, Hiroyuki Mizuguchic & Nurul Islamca School of Natural Product Studies, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India,b Department of Molecular Endocrinology, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Jadavpur, Kolkata, Indiac Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Graduate School of Health-Biosciences, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima, JapanAddress for Correspondence: Pulok K Mukherjee, School of Natural Product Studies, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700032, India. Tel./fax: +91 33 24146046. E-mail: naturalproductm@gmail.comBackground and aim: The major groups of phytonutrients found in plants include polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenes, amines, etc., all of which are observed to have potential anti-allergic activity. In this study, we evaluated the anti-allergic activity of the standardized extract of Albizia lebbeck with respect to the catechin, a polyphenolic phytomarker.Material and methods: The percentage of catechin in the ethanolic extract was found to be 14.72 mg/g. We administered Albizia lebbeck (50–300 mg/kg) and 50 mg/kg of catechin to mice to evaluate the mast cell stabilization and estimation of histamine elevation in the plasma.Results and conclusion: Results support the conclusion that Albizia lebbeck at different concentrations has got potent mast cell stabilizing property and the IC50 value of Albizia lebbeck was found to be 85 μg/ml. This inhibitory potential of catechin from Albizia lebbeck is perhaps due to modulation of two important effector’s functions, histamine release and cytokine expression of antigen -IgE activated mast cells.