~ Journal of ETHNO PHARMACOLOGY ELS EVI E R Journal of Ethnopharmacology 56 (1997) 77 80 Studies on antitussive activity of Drymaria cordata Willd. (Caryophyllaceae) Pulok K. Mukherjee, Kakali Saha, S. Bhattacharya, S.N. Giri, M. Pal, B.P. Saha * Department gf Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty o["Eng#wering and Technology, Jadavpur University, Calcutta 700 032, India Received 25 October 1996; received in revised form 6 January 1997; accepted 7 January 1997 Abstract The methanol extract of Drymaria cordata Willd. was investigated for its effect on a cough model induced by sulfur dioxide gas in mice. It exhibited significant antitussive activity when compared with the control in a dose-dependent manner. The antitussive activity of the extract was comparable to that of codeine phosphate, a prototype antitussive agent. The D. cordata extract (100, 200, 400 mg/kg) showed 11.6%, 31.6% and 51.5% inhibition of cough with respect to the control group. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. Keywords: Drymaria cordata; Antitussive; Sulfur dioxide; Cough; Methanol extract 1. Introduction Drymaria cordata Willd. (Caryophyllaceae) is a herbaceous plant found abundantly in Sikkim and the sub-Himalayan region of India (Srivas- tava and Kaphi, 1992; Dutta and Banerjee, 1954). It has been found that the local tribes from Garohills and Khasia of Meghalaya, In- dia, use this herb as an antitussive. The herb is kept on some big leaves, folded, tied and put over fire and the inside material is heated, * Corresponding author. the vapour is then inhaled for the relief of cough and sinusitis or in acute cold attack. This herb is also used for snake bite, and is applied topically for burns and skin diseases (Rao, 1981; Asolkar et al., 1992). The antibac- terial efficiency of the herb (Mukherjee et al., 1996) has been reported and the characteriza- tion of tincture from this herb has already been reported by Mukherjee et al. (1995). To substantiate its activity against cough and cold attack the present study was designed to investigate the effect of Drvmaria cordata ex- tract on sulfur dioxide-induced cough reflex in mice following the method of Miyagoshi et al. (1986). 0378-8741/97/$17.00 (c) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. PII S0378-8741 (97)01512-2