Abstract
Sida linifolia L., a common weed found in dry forest areas in West Africa and other parts of the world, is associated with several folkloric applications in Africa, including its use in assuaging painful whitlows and in malaria management; however, limited or no scientific studies have validated its bioactivities. Herein, we investigated the anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of ethanolic (ELFSL) and ethyl acetate (EALFSL) fractions of Sida linifolia leaves. The in vivo anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated by edema induction with an intraperitoneal injection of freshly prepared carrageenan (0.1 mL of 0.01 g/mL) and 0.1 mL of undiluted fresh egg albumin into the mouse’s hind paw; additionally, hind paw licking, and writhing were induced in mice using formalin (i.p.) (0.02 mL of 1% v/v) and 0.6% (v/v) (10 mL/kg bw) (i.p.) acetic acid, respectively, to assay for anti-nociceptive potentials. Varying amounts of flavonoids, tannins, and other phenols, terpenoids, saponins, steroids, and alkaloids were detected in the fractions. The LD50 study showed no toxicity up to 5000 mg/kg body weight (per oral) EALFSL and ELFSL. Interestingly, oral administration of various concentrations (200, 400, and 600 mg/kg bw) of the fractions significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited all phases of edemogenesis, mice’s hind licking, and writhing compared with controls, and were comparable with 100 mg/kg bw (p.o.) aspirin. However, ELFSL showed non-significantly (p > 0.05) better anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities than EAFSL. This suggests that leaf fractions of Sida linifolia possess anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive potentials, possibly mediated by peripheral and central mechanisms.
Supplementary Materials
The presentation material of this work is available online at https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/ECMC2022-13488/s1.
Author Contributions
N.E.N. Conceived and designed the study; N.E.N., E.H.E. and E.C.E. performed the experiment; E.C.E. analyzed and interpreted the data; A.L.O. and E.H.E. curated the results; E.C.E. wrote the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
The study adhered to ethical considerations and conventional guide on the care and use of laboratory animals.
Informed Consent Statement
Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement
The data is available upon request from the corresponding author (E.C.E.).
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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