Exploring the Analgesic and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Ethyl Acetate Extract of Tapinanthus Globiferus Growing on Acacia Nilotica

Tapinanthus globiferus is a Nigerian medicinal plant used traditionally for the management of pain and inflammation. The aim of the work is to conduct phytochemical screening, acute toxicity as well as analgesic and anti-inflammatory evaluation ethylacetate extract (EET) of T. globiferus growing on Acacia nilotica. The preliminary phytochemical screening was performed using standard methods, acute toxicity (i.p) was assessed using Lorke’s method while analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect were assessed using formalin-induced pain test and paw oedema in rats, respectively. The results of preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of carbohydrates, alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, flavonoids, saponins, steroids and triterpenes while the LD50 value of the EET was estimated to be 3808 mg/kg indicating the extract is relatively toxic. EET exhibited significant (p ≤ 0.05) analgesic activity in dose-dependent manner, with inhibition ranging from 34.07 & 41.15 % to 51.28 & 53.85 % at 50 to 200 mg/kg while the control had 75.46 & 81.92 %. Additionally, EET significantly inhibited the paw oedema during the 1st to 4th hrs at 200 mg/kg with inhibition ranging from 27.50, 29.20, 34.19 and 35.40 % and no significant inhibition was observed at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg, the standard drug-piroxicam used had 46.90 to 55.75%. The findings from the study unveiled the potential of EET to significantly exhibit the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities, thus suggest for isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds for use in the management of pain and inflammation.