Evaluation of Antinociceptive and Antiinflammatory Activities of Methanolic Extract of Alpinia Galanga Rhizomes in Animal Models

Alpinia galanga Linn. (Zingiberaceae) presents many chemical constituents of the volatile oil extracted from the rhizome. The rhizome of Alpinia galanga is used by people in many regions for relieving toothache, abdominal pain, muscular swelling and rheumatism. This study was performed to determine the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of a methanolic extract of Alpinia galanga. Analgesic activity was evaluated by acetic acid induced writhing responses, tail flick and hot plate methods in mice. In analgesic activity the A. galanga extract significantly reduced the writhes and increased the tail withdrawal time and paw jumping in albino mice. The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by carrageenan induced edema in wistar albino rats. It was found that the extract inhibits the paw edema significantly (p<0.05) at both 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg dose levels when compared with control. The positive control drugs for analgesic and anti-inflammatory studies were employed as morphine and indomethacin, respectively. The present findings indicate the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effect of A. galanga extract in animals. INTRODUCTION: Traditional medicinal herbs are being used extensively in various part of the world, including India, to treat various types of ailments as an alternative to modern medicine. The major importance of these herbal medicines has less toxicity compared to synthetic ones. The extracts are exhaustively used to treat various disorders, although there is relatively little knowledge about their mode of action. Alpinia galanga or galanga or kulanjan in hindi, (familyZingiberaceae), is a well-known plant in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand 1, 2 . QUICK RESPONSE CODE DOI: 10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.6(7).3103-08 Article can be accessed online on: www.ijpsr.com DOI link: http://dx.doi.org/10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.6(7).3103-08 A. galanga has been extensively used for treatment of various disorders including hypertension, rheumatism, diabetes, anti-ulcer, asthma, immunomodulation, inflammation and antimicrobial 3-9 . It is also a good natural antioxidant and various researchers have studied the active constituents isolated from A. galanga 10 . The phenolic compounds like flavonoids and phenolic acids are copiously found in this plant. The main constituents are acetoxychavicolacetate (ACA: 76.49%) obtained from the rhizome and seed extracts.. Along the major Phytoconstituents some minor phytoconstituents are also found such as p-coumaryldiacetate (7.96%), palmitic acid (3.19%), acetoxyeugenol acetate (3.06%), 9octadecanoic acid (2.28%), Eugenol, β-bisabolene, β-farnesene and sesquiphellandrene 8 . Inflammation is part of the complex biological