| Summary, etc |
Inflammation is a term used to describe the processes that cause tissue homeostasis to be<br/>disrupted as a result of acute or chronic stimuli such as infection, stress, autoimmune reactions,<br/>or mechanical injury. It is known as the immune system's reaction to harmful stimuli like<br/>infections, damaged cells or tissues, poisonous chemicals, or irradiation. Systemic<br/>inflammation occurs when the immune response is constantly defending the body. The rise in<br/>the side effects of orthodox anti-inflammatory drugs has become alarming and so the impact<br/>of ethanol extract of P. amarus on inflammation and liver function enzyme concentrations were<br/>investigated. Twenty male and ten female Wistar rats were used in this study. The rats were<br/>grouped into six groups of five rats each. Group I served as normal control and received 1 mL<br/>phosphate buffer saline. Group II served as positive control and received a standard drug<br/>Ibuprofen orally. Group III severed as negative control and received an intraperitoneal injection<br/>of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 1 mg/kg) without pre-treatment to induce systemic inflammation.<br/>Groups IV and V received different doses of P. amarus ethanol-100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg,<br/>while group VI received pure compound; n- hexadecenoic acid (100 mg/kg). Oral<br/>administration was done daily for 20 days, followed by LPS induction on day 21. The animals<br/>were sacrificed under chloroform anesthesia and blood was collected via ocular puncture for<br/>assessment of the immunological and biochemical parameters.<br/>The result showed a significant decrease in the immunological parameters (Tumor necrosis<br/>factor-α and interleukin-6) in serum and a decrease in the biochemical and liver function<br/>parameters (Aspartate aminotransferase, Alanine aminotransferase, urea, and creatinine) in the<br/>liver homogenate and serum of the pre-treated groups when compared to the normal control.<br/>The findings of this study revealed that P. amarus is a good plant that has an anti-inflammatory<br/>effect, down-regulating the activity of pro-inflammatory cytokines. It also suggests that this<br/>plant has no toxic effect on tissues in the body and could thus be passed as a natural and novel<br/>anti-inflammatory agent. |
