ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF PARTIALLY PURIFIED COLUMN CHROMATOGRAPHY FRACTIONS OF Acanthus montanus ROOTS
ESIRI LUCY UBIEDI1,2, BONAVENTURE CHINONSO OBI1*, CHIEZIE ARTHUR EZENWAEGBU¬1,
CHARLES OGBONNAYA OKOLI1
1. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
2. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Veritas University, Abuja
Afr. J Pharm Res Dev; Volume 18(1): 618-625 ; 2026
ABSTRACT
Acanthus montanus Nees T. Anderson (Acanthaceae) has traditionally been used in traditional African medicine to treat pain and inflammation. The study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of purified active fractions (designated AMC-1 and AMC-2) in murine models. Using 100% methanol, the dried whole plant was macerated to obtain a methanol extract (ME), which was further fractionated into pet ether (PEF), chloroform (CF), and methanol (MF) fractions. AMC-1 and AMC-2 were isolated from PEF using a bioassay-guided assay and tested for anti-inflammatory activity in mice using xylene-induced ear oedema, agar-induced rat paw oedema, and leukocyte migration models. Topical application of AMC-1 and AMC-2 significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited acute ear oedema induced by xylene, with inhibitions of 56% and 41%, respectively. AMC-1 and AMC-2 at 400 mg/kg significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited acute paw oedema. AMC-1 had a higher inhibition of 87%, whereas AMC-2 had an inhibition of 60%. The leukocyte migration count of AMC-2 (92.8, -76%) was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of AMC-1 (86.4, -30%) and the standard treatment, indomethacin (61.6, -17%). There is good biological activity associated with AMC-1 and AMC-2, which can be promising as anti-inflammatory agents. Further research is ongoing to validate the results
Keywords:Acanthus montanus, xylene-induced, agar-induced, leukocyte migratione
Email of correspondence: bonaventure.obi@unn.edu.ng;
https://doi.org/10.59493/ajopred/2026.1.22 ISSN: 0794-800X (print); 1596-2431 (online)