Safety assessment and analgesic activity (central and peripheral) of Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) hydroalcoholic peel extract grow in East of Algeria, by using acetic acid, hot plate and tail immersion tests

Abstract

n view of medicinal importance of pomegranate grown locally in eastern of Algeria, The current study was based on the valorization of Punica granatum L. peel hydroalcoholic extract, by the determination of its acute toxicity and an evaluation of its analgesic activity by in vivo approach in rats using acetic acid, hot plate and tail immersion methods, the extract was used at the doses of 0.75, 1.50 and 3.00 g/kg while acetylsalicylic acid was used as a standard reference drug (0.10 g/kg). In the acetic acid-induced model, the plant extract and the reference drug significantly (p˂0.0001) reduced the abdominal writhing in rats when compared to the control group, by increasing the percentage inhibition of writhing in a dose dependent manner. In the hot plate and tail immersion models, the extract like the acetyl salicylic acid showed high analgesic activity in a dose dependent manner and significantly (p˂0.0001) increasing the pain reaction time. These results suggest significant analgesic potential of Punica granatum L. peel extract which may act through both peripheral and central mechanisms; probably due to the ability of its phyto-constituents to induce mechanisms of anti inflammatory effects