Acute toxicity and anti-inflammatory properties of Fadogia agrestis Schweinf. ex Hiern (Rubiaceae) extract in mice and rats.

Objective: Plants are widely used in alternative medicine for the treatment of various diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory properties of the hydroalcoholic extract of Fadogia agrestis leaves. Methodology: The acute toxicity study was performed by oral administration of Fadogia agrestis hydroalcoholic extract at a single dose of 2000 mg/kg in NMRI mice. Then, the anti-inflammatory activity of Fadogia agrestis extract was studied on several models of acute and subacute inflammation in mice. The effects of the extract at different concentrations (100, 200, and 300 mg/kg), administered orally, were compared to the effects of 1% carrageenan, 1% histamine, 1% serotonin, and 2% formalin injected into the plantar surface of the hind paw. Results: The hydroalcoholic extract of Fadogia agrestis leaves at the dose of 2000 mg/kg did not cause the death of mice. The results also indicate that hydroalcoholic extract of Fadogia agrestis leaves strongly inhibited (p<0.01) carrageenan-induced edema formation at the fifth hour of inflammation. These maximum inhibitions were 47.45%, 50.87%, and 47.03% for extract doses of 300, 200, and 100 mg/kg, respectively. The hydroalcoholic extract of Fadogia agrestis leaves also inhibited formalin-induced edema formation. The inhibitions were highly significant (p<0.01) on the first day of induction. In addition, in rats treated with the extract at all doses, a highly significant (p<0.01) decrease in leukocyte count was observed compared to the control. Conclusion: The results of the present study show that the hydroalcoholic extract of the leaves of Fadogia agrestis administered orally possesses an anti-inflammatory activity without toxic effects. Keywords: Fadogia agrestis, Acute toxicity, Anti-inflammatory, Edema, Rats, Mice