Abstract

Cyphostemma vogelii (family: Vitaceae) is a herbaceous plant which grows in Obukpa town in South Eastern Nigeria. C. vogelii is said to be generally medicinal though no specific medicinal activity was mentioned in the literature for this plant. The analgesic effect of C. vogelii was evaluated using acetic acid-induced writhing and formalin-induced nociception tests. The extract was also screened for anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenan-induced and kaolin-carrageenan-induced paw edema tests. C. vogelii extract dose dependently inhibited acetic acid-induced pain in mice. The extract at 200 and 400 mg/kg significantly inhibited inflammatory and neurogenic pain induced by formalin. The effects of 200 mg/kg on formalin induced pain were similar to those of aspirin, while 400 mg/kg produced more inhibitory effects. At 2, 3 and 5 h post carrageenan injection, 200 and 400 mg/kg extract significantly inhibited paw edema. The extract dose dependently suppressed kaolin-carrageenan-induced edema from 3 h post treatment for up to 24 h. The effect of 400 mg/kg on kaolin-carrageenan-induced edema was similar to that of aspirin, while 100 mg/kg showed the least activity. The data obtained from this study showed that the methanol extract of C. vogelii exhibited mild analgesic activity as well as anti-inflammatory activity.

Key words: Analgesic, anti-inflammatory, mice, Cyphostemma vogelii, nociception.