Abstract

Ipomoea asarifolia (IA) (Desr) (family: Convolvulacea) is an herb, with a hairless succulent perennial stem, trailing on the ground usually several meters long. The various parts of this plant are used locally in the alleviation of inflammation and painful conditions. This study was done to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of the water extract of the plant in experimental animal models (anti-inflammatory action by carrageenan-induced rat paw edema, the analgesic activity by acetic acid-induced writhing response method. The water extract of I. asarifolia in doses of 37.5, 75 and 150 mg/kg showed 64.7, 70.5 and 73.6% inhibition of paw edema, respectively, at the end of 3 h and in acetic-induced writhing, the percentage protection was 45, 58.1, and 60.7%, respectively. These showed dose-dependent action in all the experimental models. The present study indicates that I. asarifolia has significant anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.

Key words: Ipomoea asarifolia, anti-inflammatory activity, rat paw oedema, antinociceptive activity, pain models.