Journal of Ethnopharmacology 128 (2010) 15–19 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Ethnopharmacology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jethpharm Screening of analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of Citrullus colocynthis from southern Tunisia Belsem Marzouk a , Zohra Marzouk b , Ehsen Haloui b , Nadia Fenina b , Abderrahman Bouraoui c , Mahjoub Aouni a,∗ a Laboratoire des Maladies Transmissibles et Substances Biologiquement Actives, Faculté de Pharmacie, Monastir, Rue AVICENNE, 5000 Monastir, Tunisia b Unité de Pharmaco-économie et Développement des Médicaments, Laboratoires de Biologie Végétale et Laboratoire de Pharmacologie, Faculté de Pharmacie, Monastir, Tunisia c Unité URSAM, Laboratoire de Pharmacologie, Faculté de Pharmacie, 5000 Monastir, Tunisia article info Article history: Received 24 June 2009 Received in revised form 3 November 2009 Accepted 26 November 2009 Available online 3 December 2009 Keywords: Citrullus colocynthis Schrad. Aqueous extract Acute toxicity Analgesic activity Anti-inflammatory activity Tunisian medicinal plant abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance: Inflammations and immune-related diseases such as rheumatoid arthri- tis are growing global concerns. Most of the drugs from plants which have become important in modern medicine had a folklore origin and are traditional in systems of medicine. Citrullus colocynthis Schrad. (cucurbitaceae), endemic in Southern Tunisia, is used in folk medicine to treat many inflammation diseases. Aim of study: To evaluate the acute toxicity of different parts of Citrullus colocynthis and then to screen the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of aqueous extracts from roots and stems of the plant and from fruits and seeds at different maturation stages. Materials and methods: After identification and acute toxicity assay Citrullus colocynthis Schrad. aqueous extracts were screened for analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities using, respectively, the acetic acid writhing test in mice and the carrageenan-induced paw edema assay in rats. Results: All extracts displayed analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities at different doses without induc- ing acute toxicity. Topic results were obtained with immature fruits followed by seeds. The stem and root extracts were shown to possess the less significant inhibitory activity against analgesic and anti- inflammatory models. Conclusions: Based on this study, we confirmed that Citrullus colocynthis Schrad. is a potentially useful drug suitable for further evaluation for rheumatoid arthritis, and its folk medicinal use as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agents is validated. © 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction For the most part, modern science has neglected botanical source of knowledge and the pharmacological potential of old remedies have not been systematically evaluated. Nevertheless many species used in traditional medicine have the potential to provide pharmacologically active natural products. Citrullus colocynthis Schrad. is a wild native plant growing in arid areas (Pottier-Alapetite, 1981). This cucurbitaceae is widely used in Tunisian folk medicine and it possesses therapeutic activities against a wide range of ailments including inflammatory disorders, arthritis and gout (Le Flock, 1983; Boukef, 1986; Marzouk et al., 2009). Nevertheless, a human overdose of plant immature fruits is hazard. Intoxication is manifested by colitis, gastro-intestinal irri- ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +216 73 461 000; fax: +216 73 461 830. E-mail address: mahjoub.ouni@fphm.rnu.tn (M. Aouni). tations, delirium, hypothermia and cerebral congestions (Meyer, 1989; Bellakhdhar, 1999). In Tunisia, as in other Mediterranean countries (Al-Rawi and Chaakravarty, 1964), the parts of plants most often used for medic- inal purposes are fruits and/or seeds, though other parts of the plants can be used, for example roots to treat urinary infection (Nadkami, 1954) or leaves (Batanouny, 1999). Traditional heal- ers seem to not pay attention to the plant’s degree of maturity. The literature rarely mentions if seeds are present in preparations involving ground fruit/pulp. Modes of preparation and administra- tion vary, even for similar indications. Common preparations use fresh, warmed or dried plant material (often ground), as well as extracts used mostly in a liquid form. Extracts are prepared either in water or in aqueous mixtures containing more lipophilic com- pounds (hot milk extractions, water/olive oil at various ratios) at a temperature ranged from tepid to boiling. Ground plant material can be mixed with honey for ingestion or topical gynaecological application or with other plants for poultices (for example with 0378-8741/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2009.11.027