Anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of ethanol stem bark extract of Odina barteri in experimental animals

Medicinal plants have been a cornerstone of traditional medicine for centuries, offering a rich source of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential. This study investigated the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect of the ethanol stem back extract of Odina barteri in rodents. Analgesic effects of the extract was determined mice using acetic acid-induced writhing and formalin induced paw oedema in rats. The anti-inflammatory activity was assessed using xylene induced ear oedema in mice and egg- albumin- induced inflammation in rats respectively. The acetic acid and formalin induced pain methods showed dose dependent analgesic effects. There was a significant (p<0.05 and p<0.01) reduction in responses to noxious stimulus during both early and late phases of the ethanol stem bark extract of O. barteri at all the doses tested in formalin induced pain study as well as the acetic acid induced writhing investigations. There was a significant difference in sizes of oedema (p < 0.05 and p<0.01) between the treated right and the untreated left ears in all extracts tested. The extract exerted significant (p<0.05 and p<0.01) anti-inflammatory activity at the doses tested against egg albumin induced oedema. All the rats were healthy and active during and after the period of study. Phytochemical evaluation of O. barteri stem bark extract showed the presence of the following secondary metabolites; alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, steroids, cardiac glycosides, while anthraquinone and phenol were not detected. The oral acute toxicity result was greater than 3089 mg/kg in mice. The findings show that ethanol stem bark extract demonstrated analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities in a dose-dependent fashion. Thus, supporting claims of the plant’s traditional therapeutic importance for the treatment of pains by local population, and can be developed as an alternative therapy against the disease conditions.