Abstract

Kantha D. Arunachalam , P. Velmurugan and R. Balaji Raja

Plumbago species (Family-Plumbaginaceae) are one of the most important medicinal plants which are used for anti- inflammatory, antimicrobial diseases. Our work involves the study of anti inflammatory and cytotoxic effects of Plumbago zeylanica. The root of P. zeylanica extracted with methanol was used for determining the anti inflammatory effects. The methanolic extracts at 300 and 500 mg/kg produced 31.03 and 60.3% inhibition of acute inflammation, respectively, in Carrageenin induced raw paw oedema confirming that P. zeylanica roots are effective against acute inflammation. For the evaluation of cytotoxicity, the crude dichloromethane extract was subjected to silica gel column chromatography and 120 fractions were collected. Their structures were elucidated with the help of spectroscopic techniques. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was performed to determine the purity of gugultetrol-18-ferrulate in crude extract and the structure of betasitosterol and gugultetrol-18-ferrulate was identified using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis (1 H and 13C NMR), Infra red and mass spectroscopy. The lethal concentration (LC50) value was observed for crude extract, betasitosterol, gugultetrol-18- ferrulate and it was found to be 90, 75 and 65 ppm, respectively. The use of Plumbago species as an effective anti inflammatory agent and its cytotoxic effects have been ascertained and proved.