Estimation of Antioxidant, Analgesic and Cytotoxic Activities of Methanolic Extract of Saurauia roxburghii Leaves

The present study aimed to investigate the potential antioxidant, cytotoxic, and analgesic activities of the methanolic leaves extract of Saurauia roxburghii in different in vivo and in vitro experimental models.Saurauia roxburghii leaves extract exhibited DPPH free radical scavenging activity with an IC50 value of 5.847 µg/ml. The total phenolic and flavonoid content were found to be 68.33 ± 3.8188 mg GAE/gm of dried sample and 59.375583 ± 1.80465 mg QE/gm of dried sample, respectively. The total antioxidant capacity was found to be 102.2167 ± 2.41mg AAE/gm of dried sample. Analgesic activity was determined using acetic acid-induced writhing inhibition and hot plate method in a mouse model. The leaves extract, at doses of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg body weight, showed inhibition of the writhing reflex by 28% (p < 0.05) and 60% (p < 0.05), respectively. In the hot plate method, the extract showed 79.08% (p < 0.05) and 55.61% (p < 0.05) pain inhibition at doses of 200 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg, respectively (at 90 minutes). The cytotoxicity study of leaves extract was found to be moderately lethal to brine shrimp nauplii with an LC50 value of 1.6 µg/ml.Preliminary phytochemical investigation of leaves extract exhibited the presence of steroids, alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, glycosides, phytosterols, and phenolic compounds which could be correlated with its observed biological activities. In conclusion, we explored that the methanolic leaves extract of Saurauia roxburghii could be a promising source of antioxidant, analgesic, and cytotoxic agent.