S203 Document heading Macrosolen cochinchinensis (Lour.): Anti-nociceptive and antioxidant activity Rahman MM 1* , Chowdhury MAU 1 , Uddin ME 1 , Islam AMT 1 , Hossain MA 2 1 Department of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Chittagong, Chittagong-4203, Bangladesh 2 Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine (2012)S203-S207 Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine journal homepage:www.elsevier.com/locate/apjtb *Corresponding author: Masudur Rahman, Lecturer, Department of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Chittagong, Chittagong- 4203, Bangladesh. Tel: +88031610085 Ext- 160 Fax: +88031610307 E-mail: mamun2001@hotmail.com Foundation Project: Supported by Department of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Chittagong, Bangladesh. Grant number: Pharm- P&D 29/05-2011. 1. Introduction I n recent years there has been an increased use of opioids in the management of non-malignant chronic pain causing a new and growing problem with addiction and misuse of opioids [1] and opiates lack potent analgesic efficacy in neuropathic pain [2] . NSAIDs are widely indicated for the treatment of acute or chronic conditions of pain and inflammation although relate to direct and indirect irritation of the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, analgesic drugs lacking those effects are being searched all over the world as alternatives to NSAIDs and opiates. Macrosolen cochinchinensis ( M. cochinchinensis ) ( Loranthaceae ) is a much branched, quite glabrous, epiphytic parasitic shrub with swollen nodes that attaches itself to the host tree by modified roots [3,4] and in Bangladesh it is commonly known as Pargacha or Chota Banda [4] . The leaf paste is taken as a folk remedy for jaundice [5] . Tea from leaves is used for headache while the stems juice is commonly employed to expel the after-birth. Moreover, fruits are useful for symptomatic treatment of cough [6,7] . It has been scientifically proven that M. cochinchinensis possesses relaxation effect on vascular smooth muscle [7] and some antiviral and cytotoxic activities [6] . A number of natural components such as flavonoids, steroids and high concentrations of condensed tannins have been reported previously by primary phytochemical screening [6] . The aim of the present study was to investigate anti- nociceptive and antioxidant activities of M. cochinchinensis leaves extract by using different experimental methods. H owever, no earlier studies have been conducted experimentally to characterize the analgesic and antioxidant effect of this plant. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Plant material ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Received 14 January 2012 Received in revised form 2 February 2012 Accepted 23 March 2012 Available online 28 April 2012 Keywords: Antinociceptive Analgesic Antioxidant Macrosolen cochinchinensis Objective: To investigate the anti-nociceptive activities of Macrosolen cochinchinensis (M. cochinchinensis) (Lour.) leaves extract at 100 and 200 mg/kg doses in mice and in vitro antioxidant potential. Methods: Acetic acid induced writhing, formalin test and tail immersion method were used to investigate anti-nociceptive activities of methanol extract of M. cochinchinensis in mice. The in vitro antioxidant potential was determined by DPPH free radical scavenging activity and reducing power capacity. Results: Methanol extract of M. cochinchinensis at 200 mg/kg significantly (P<0.01) reduced the acetic acid-induced abdominal contractions (54.82%) comparable to standard drug, diclofenac sodium (10 mg/kg). But the lower dose (100 mg/kg) produced mild analgesia (22.66%). It also significantly decreased latency to discomfort by formalin test and increased the reaction time of mice from (1.80 暲 0.31) s to (6.03 暲 0.08) s in tail immersion method where as reference drug nalbuphine (10 mg/kg) increased to (11.12 暲 0.13) at 90 min. Maximum scavenging activity 39.47% was found at the concentration of 500 毺g/mL. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that the leaves extract of M. cochinchinensis have excellent anti- nociceptive activities and moderate antioxidant properties that may possibly explain the use of the plant in traditional medicine. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect