Abstract:
Toddalia asiatica within the context of traditional African medicine is a commonly
used medicinal plant in East Africa for the management of pain and inflammatory
conditions. It is used by the Masai in both Kenya and Tanzania for management of
rheumatism among others. The present study was undertaken to investigate the
antinociceptive activities of T. asiatica in Swiss albino mice in acetic acid-induced
writhing, tail-flick and hot plate pain tests. The extract solvent (vehicle), morphine
and aspirin were employed as negative and positive controls respectively. The
acetic acid -induced writhing test was used as the screening test and as the root
bark extract was found to be more potent than the leaf extract, the former was
investigated using the hot plate and the tail flick tests. The root bark extract (200
mg / kg) showed highly significant (p < 0.001) antinociceptive activity in the hot
plate and the tail flick tests. The 100mg/kg dose showed significant (p < 0.05)
activity in the tail flick test but not significant in the hot plate test. The present
study, therefore lends support to the anecdotal evidence for use of T. asiatica in the
management of painful conditions.
