Crude saponin extracts of five medicinal plants used in the treatment of inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis,
gout and haemorrhoids were screened for anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema test. These plants
were the whole plant of
Schwenkia americana
Linn (WSA), the rhizomes of
Asparagus africanus
Lam (RAA), the leaves of
Dichrostachys cinerea
Linn (LDC), the stem bark of
Ficus iteophylla
Miq (BFI) and the leaves of
Indigofera pulchra
Willd (LIP).
A modify traditional method of crude saponins extraction was used to give the following percentage yields: WSA-2.74%, RAA-
3.59%, LDC-1.62%, BFI-0.81% and LIP-1.57% respectively. Thin-layer chromatography was used to identify the type of
saponins present in the extracts. The acute toxicity study of the crude saponin extracts in mice gave the following intraperitoneal
LD
50: WSA-471.2mg/kg, RAA- 1264.9mg/kg, LDC-1264.9mg/kg, BFI-118.3mg/kg and LIP-1264.9mg/kg respectively. The antiinflammatory
study of the extracts showed statistically significant (P<0.05) decreases in the rat paw-oedema as compared to the
control. The percentage inhibitions of the extracts after four hours were as follow: WSA-61%, RAA-55%, LDC-72%, BFI-66%
and LIP-40% respectively. These values were found to be comparable to that of ketoprofen-63%. The study showed that the antiinflammatory
properties attributable to these plants may be due to their saponins contents.
