BSc-MSc (Integrated)

The thesis entitled ‘Assessment of antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties of Chlorophytum laxum R. Br.’ was carried out in the Ethnomedicine and Ethnopharmacology Division of Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI), Palode, Thiruvananthapuram during the academic year 2017-2018. The objective of the study was to scientifically evaluate antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties of an ethnomedicinal plant Chlorophytum laxum R. Br. (Neeruvatti).
Chlorophytum laxum R. Br. (Neeruvatti), herbaceous plant of family Liliaceae is one of the important medicinal plant seen in grasslands. The tubers of Chlorophytum laxum R. Br. were collected from the hills of Western Ghats and maintained at JNTBGRI to conduct the pharmacological studies. Extraction procedures were carried to prepare the drugs of different doses for the study. Acute oral toxicity studies in mice and antiinflammatory studies in rats, were done as pharmacological analysis.
The preliminary phytochemical investigation, tubers of Chlorophytum laxum has shown the presence of secondary metabolites like carbohydrates, phenols, alkaloids, proteins, steroids, tannin, saponins and glycosides that may be responsible for its medicinal properties. The content of total phenols in the ethanolic extract of Chlorophytum laxum expressed as gallic acid equivalents per gram of dry extract is 5.12 mg GA/g of extract.
Toxicity studies of tuber extract were investigated in Swiss albino mice for 14 days by the administration of 4 doses 5, 50, 300 and 2000 mg/kg body weight and no symptoms of toxicity were seen in the animals even up to the highest dose.
In detailed pharmacological studies, antiinflammatory potential of tuber extract was investigated in vivo by carrageenan induced paw oedema and formalin induced paw oedema and in vitro by HRBC membrane stabilization assay. The extract were
administered at doses of 50, 150 and 450 mg/kg body weight orally in adult wistar rats and the maximum percentage inhibition of paw oedema in the right hind limb was shown by ECL 450 mg/kg in both the methods. ECL at higher concentration protect significantly the hypotonicity induced haemolysis of HRBC by in vitro antiinflammatory analysis.
The antioxidant effect of ethanolic extract of C. laxum showed IC50 of 36.62 μg/mL in hydroxyl radical scavenging, 68.91 μg/mL in nitric oxide radical scavenging and 135.67 μg/mL in antilipid peroxidation assay. Total antioxidant capacity of ethanolic extract of tubers of C. laxum was found to be 90.04 μg AAE/g of dry extract. The antioxidant potential of C. laxum was compared with a standard and the results obtained gives the significant effect and almost equal effect.
The results of current study will help to develop a monograph of the drug for reference. These results substantiate the traditional claim of the plant for its medicinal use.