IN-VITRO EVALUATION OF ANTIHYPERTENSIVE AND DIURETIC ACTIVITY OF CLEOME VISCOSA LINN. LEAF EXTRACT

Hypertension and fluid imbalance are common health conditions that significantly affect human health and quality of life. Herbal medicines and natural products have been used traditionally for the maintenance of health and management of various diseases, and medicinal plants continue to serve as important sources of bioactive phytoconstituents and potential therapeutic agents. [1–3] The present study was undertaken to evaluate the in-vitro antihypertensive and diuretic potential of the ethanolic leaf extract of Cleome viscosa Linn. Fresh, fully matured leaves of Cleome viscosa Linn. were collected from different regions of Tirupattur district, Tamil Nadu, India. The leaves were washed, shade-dried, powdered, defatted with n-hexane using Soxhlet extraction for 24 h and subsequently extracted with ethanol for 24 h. The concentrated ethanolic extract was subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening and in-vitro enzyme inhibition studies. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of tannins, phenolic compounds, alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, steroids and triterpenoids, carbohydrates, and saponins. The antihypertensive potential was evaluated by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and renin inhibition assays, while the diuretic potential was evaluated by carbonic anhydrase and Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase inhibition assays. The ethanolic extract exhibited concentration-dependent inhibitory activity in all the evaluated assays. ACE inhibition increased from 22.8 ± 1.2% at 100 µg/mL to 73.6 ± 2.1% at 800 µg/mL, compared with 92.9 ± 1.1% for captopril. Renin inhibition increased from 15.6 ± 1.0% to 61.7 ± 1.9% at 100–800 µg/mL, compared with 94.2 ± 0.9% for aliskiren. Carbonic anhydrase inhibition increased from 18.62 ± 1.21% to 81.37 ± 1.35% at 25–400 µg/mL, compared with 94.25 ± 0.82% for acetazolamide. Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase inhibition increased from 18.6 ± 1.2% to 82.5 ± 2.3% at 25–400 µg/mL, compared with 95.4 ± 1.1% for ouabain. The findings provide preliminary in-vitro evidence for the antihypertensive and diuretic potential of the ethanolic leaf extract of Cleome viscosa Linn. Further in-vivo, toxicity, isolation, characterization, and mechanism-based studies are required to establish its pharmacological significance.