Antipyretic and antinociceptive activity of Diospyros lotus L. in animals.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate pharmacologically the traditional use of Diospyros lotus as antipyretic and antinociceptive in various animal models.

METHODS

In vivo experimental models were used in this study. Antipyretic activity of extract/fractions was evaluated in brewer's yeast induced hyperthermic mice while antinociceptive activity was studied in acetic acid induced writhing test at 50 and 100 mg/kg i.p.

RESULTS

The crude extract strongly ameliorated the induced pyrexia during various assessment times. Upon fractionation, the antipyretic effects were strongly augmented by the chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions of the plant. However, hexane and butanol fractions were insignificant in their effect as antipyretic. The extract showed marked inhibition on the noxious simulation induced by post acetic acid injection. The effect was strongly supported by other fraction expect hexane.

CONCLUSIONS

In short, our study scientifically validated the traditional use of the plant as antipyretic.