Antioxidant, Analgesic and Cytotoxic Activities of Mimusops Elengi Linn. Leaves

Mimusops elengi Linn. (Family: Sapotaceae) is a tree which is traditionally used against a number of diseases including ulcers, headache, dental diseases, wound and fever. In the present study crude methanolic extract of Mimusops elengi Linn. leaf was investigated for possible antioxidant, analgesic and cytotoxic activity. The extract exhibited statistically significant antioxidant activity in DPPH free radical scavenging and Nitric oxide scavenging test. The analgesic activity of the sample was studied using acetic acid induced writhing of white albino mice and hot plate test. The extract produced 45.61% and 63.85% (P<0.001) writhing inhibition at the doses of 250mg/kg and 500 mg/kg body weight respectively which is comparable to the standard drug diclofenac sodium was found to be 76.69% at a dose of 25 mg/kg body weight. In hot plate test the extract exerted significant (P<0.001) prolongation in the response of latency time to the heat stimulus. The cytotoxic activity of the extract was assessed by brine shrimp lethality bioassay as an indicator of toxicity in which LC50= 80μg/ml and LC90 = 320μg/ml for sample. All the results tend to justify the traditional uses of the plant and require further investigation to identify the chemicals. INTRODUCTION: In the past few years, there has been growing interest in the involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in several pathological situations like cancer, chronic pain, cardiovascular diseases and arthritis. ROS produced in vivo include superoxide radical (O2 ), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hypochlorous acid (HOCl).H2O2 and O2 can interact in the presence of certain transition metal ions to yield a highly-reactive oxidizing species, the hydroxyl radical (OH) . The oxidation induced by ROS can result in cell membrane disintegration, membrane protein damage and DNA mutation, which can further initiate or propagate the development of many diseases, such as cancer, liver injury and cardiovascular disease . Although the body possesses such defense mechanisms, as enzymes and antioxidant nutrients, which arrest the damaging properties of ROS, continuous exposure to chemicals and contaminants may lead to an increase in the amount of free radicals in the body beyond its capacity to control them, and cause irreversible oxidative damage . Therefore, antioxidants with free radical scavenging activities may have great relevance in the prevention and therapeutics of diseases in which oxidants or free radicals are implicated . In this respect, polyphenolic compounds, like flavonoids and phenolic acids, commonly found in plants have been reported to have multiple biological effects, including antioxidant activity . Restriction is being imposed on the use of synthetic antioxidants because of their carcinogenicity, the need for natural antioxidants therefore become