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. 2014 Oct-Dec;7(4):367-77.
doi: 10.4103/0974-8490.159569.

Anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic activity of a methanol extract from Vitellaria paradoxa stem bark

Harquin Simplice Foyet  1 , David Emery Tsala  1 , J C Zogo Essono Bodo  2 , Azanfack Name Carine  2 , Lissia Toussoumna Heroyne  2 , Eyong Kenneth Oben  3
Affiliations

Anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic activity of a methanol extract from Vitellaria paradoxa stem bark

Harquin Simplice Foyet et al. Pharmacognosy Res. 2014 Oct-Dec.

Abstract

Background: Vitellaria paradoxa is a traditional medicinal plant of Cameroon. Several studies on this plant have focused on the cosmetic profile of its fruits. The present study focuses on the anti-inflammatory potency of stem barks extract of this plant.

Objective: The objective was to evaluate the effect of methanolic extract of V. paradoxa (VPME) stem barks on inflammatory response in rats.

Materials and methods: Anti-inflammatory effects of VPME were evaluated in acute and chronic (28 days) inflammation induced in Wistar albino rats. The effects on hyperalgesia and locomotors activity were also quantified. The relative weight of lymphoid organs was obtained as well as some hematological parameters.

Results: In the carrageenan-induced inflammation, VPME (75 mg/kg) exhibited a significant (66.67%) inhibition after 1 h. On the complete Freund's adjuvant-induced rheumatoid arthritis, VPME showed a significant protective effect with 8.12% inflammation against 25.00% for the control group after 2 days of the treatment. The extract (75 and 150 mg/kg) significantly reduced the score of arthritis with a maximum obtained on day 19(th) of the experimentation. There was a significant increase in the reaction time of rats on the hot plate as well as the exploratory activities of the animals in the open field. This extract significantly prevented weight, hemoglobin and red blood cells losses, and spleen hypertrophy. A protective action against skin destruction and cartilage erosion was evident. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the extract revealed the presence of catechins.

Conclusions: These findings suggested that V. paradoxa may contribute to the reduction of the inflammatory response.

Keywords: Arthritis; Vitellaria paradoxa; catechin; hematological parameters; hyperalgesia; inflammation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Liquid chromatography (LC)-ultraviolet, LC-mass spectrometry of the methanol extract of Vitellaria paradoxa stern bark showing abundance of flavonoids of the type catechin
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of methanol extract of Vitellaria paradoxa oral administration on carrageenan-induced paw edema. Data are expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean from 5 rats and analyzed by one-way analysis of variance followed by Newman–Keuls posttest. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 as compared to control group animals
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of methanol extract of Vitellaria paradoxa oral administration on joint diameter. Data represent mean of five animals. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 as compared to control group animals
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of oral administration of methanol extract of Vitellaria paradoxa on the arthritic score. Data represent mean ± standard error of the mean of five animals. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 as compared to control group animals and ###P < 0.001 as compared to normal animals
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect of methanol extract of Vitellaria paradoxa oral administration on rearing behavior. Data represent mean ± standard error of the mean of five animals. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 as compared to control group animals
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effect of methanol extract of Vitellaria paradoxa oral administration on the nociceptive threshold at the hot plate test. Data represent mean ± standard error of the mean of five animals. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 as compared to control group animals
Figure 7
Figure 7
Effect of methanol extract of Vitellaria paradoxa oral administration on locomotor activity. Data represent mean ± standard error of the mean of five animals. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 as compared to control group animals
Figure 8
Figure 8
Effect of methanol extract of Vitellaria paradoxa oral administration on white blood cell, hemoglobin, and hematocrit. Data are presented as mean ± ESM (n = 4). *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001 versus control; #P < 0.05; versus normal
Figure 9
Figure 9
Histopathological study of paw tissue (H and E, ×400). Group I - normal rats (a). Group II - arthritis, which shows severe edema formation and severe cells infiltration and vascular dilatation (b), Group III - arthritis + methanol extract of Vitellaria paradoxa (VPME) 75 mg/kg, shows skin disorganization (fibroblasts and collagen fiber) and cells infiltrations (c), Group IV - arthritis + VPME 150 mg/kg, shows mild edema formation fibroblasts are well-arranged (d), Group V - arthritis + VPME 300 mg/kg, shows mild edema formation and cells organization without vasodilatation (e) and Group VI - arthritis + diclofenac-treated group (f)
Figure 10
Figure 10
Histological structures of joint and cartilage (H and E, ×400) from treated and nontreated rats. The normal control rat (a); the arthritic rat (b); methanol extract of Vitellaria paradoxa treated rat 150 mg/kg (c), 300 mg/kg (d) and diclofenac-treated rat (e). The black arrow (in a-c) showed the joint space variation, the yellow arrow showed the chondrocytes in the cartilage tissue and red arrow showed cartilage erosion
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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