Anti-inflammatory and anti-helminthic activity of ethanolic extract of Azadirachta Indica leaves

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate membrane stability and anti-helminthic activity of bioactive compounds isolated from the leaves of A. indica through soxhlet extraction. Materials and Methods: Fresh leaves were collected, cleaned, dried at 37°C and boiled with ethanol for extracting secondary metabolites. The crude extracts were examined for membrane stability by HRBC membrane stabilization and heat induced haemolysis methods using Spectrophotometer. Similarly anti-helminthic activity was evaluated using earthworms of 8-10 cm in length and 0.3-0.4 cm in width and compared the results with standard drug Albendazole. Results and Discussion: Ethanolic extract of A. indica showed 98.63% for 1:1 dilution and 18.33 % for 1:2 dilution of preservation in hypotonic solution of HRBC and 16.06% protection against heat induced haemolysis. Similarly extract showed anthelmintic activity at lower concentration of 25 mg/ml against P. posthuma. The lower concentrations of leaf extract showed good anti-inflammatory activity and anti-helminthic activity, but higher concentrations gave relatively more projecting activity as compared with standard drugs. Conclusion: Study indicates that, these extracts could be an alternative for the synthetic drugs available in the market and further studies are needed before the pharmacological properties of A. indica can be utilized in therapy.