Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Autolysed Extract of the Indian Earthworm Pheretima posthuma after Preliminary Purification - An In Vitro Study

The current study is aimed to investigate and evaluate the therapeutic potential of the dialysed protein extract of the Indian earthworm Pheretima posthuma for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The antioxidant activity was assessed by calculating Total Phenolic Content, Reducing power and Nitric Oxide Radical Inhibition capacity of the prepared autolysed earthworm extract. The anti-inflammatory activity of the prepared earthworm extract was determined by estimating the percentage of RBC membrane stabilization using Diclofenac Sodium, a non-steroidal anti-Inflammatory drug (NSAID) as standard for comparison. We have reported the total phenolic content as 8.80 μg GAE/mg of protein present in the extract, 37.90% of nitric oxide scavenging ability and considerable reducing activity of earthworm extract although less in comparison to the reference standard of Ascorbic acid. A high percentage (58.6%) of RBC membrane stabilization was noticed while incubating the extract with human RBC suggesting its strong anti-inflammatory activity in vitro. Further fractionation and purification of potent therapeutic molecules from the crude extract might lead to the exploration of novel drug leads of natural origin from the earthworms.