Phytochemical Screening, Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic Activities of Root Barks from Acacia macrostachya Reichenb. Ex DC. (Fabaceae)

Aims: Acacia macrostachya Reichenb. ex DC. (Fabaceae) is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of many pathologies including diarrhea, malaria with convulsion and fevers, snake bites, vomiting, nausea, dysenteric syndrome and choleriformis, inflammatory diseases and old wounds. The purpose of this study was to carry out the phytochemical screening, to assess the general acute toxicity, the anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of the dichloromethane extract of A. macrostachya root barks in order to develop new lower-toxic anti-inflammatory drugs.

Place and Duration of Study: The work was carried out in the Department of Traditional Pharmacopoeia and Pharmacy (MEPHATRA / PH) of the Institute for Research in Health Sciences (IRSS) and LABIOCA from Université Joseph KI-ZERBO in Ouagadougou between March and June 2020.

Methodology: Phytochemical screening was carried out through thin layer chromatography with specific reagents. Acute toxicity assay was carried out according to the "dose adjustment" method from the OECD guideline 423 2001. Analgesic effect was evaluated on the number of abdominal contortions induced by the intraperitoneal injection of acetic acid while the anti-inflammatory activity using the Carrageenan anti-edematous test was determined according to Winter.

Results: Phytochemical profile demonstrated the presence of alkaloids, coumarins, polyphenols, tannins, flavonoids, saponosides, triterpenes and sterols. At the dose of 200 mg/kg (bw), the extract inhibited acetic acid-induced pain by 67.08% and carragenaan-induced edema by 74.03%. A. macrostachya dichloromethane extract is slightly toxic with LD50 higher than 5000 mg/kg (bw).

Conclusion:The results of this study demonstrated the interest of A. macrostachya in the treatment of inflammatory pathologies and constitute a scientific basis of its traditional uses.