Total phenolic, flavonoid contents, and biological activities of stem extracts of Astragalus spinosus (Forssk.) Muschl. grown in Northern Border Province, Saudi Arabia

Naira Nayeem; Mohd Imran; Syed Mohammed Basheeruddin Asdaq; Syed Imam Rabbani; Farhan Ali Alanazi; Abdulhakeem S Alamri; Walaa F Alsanie; Majid Alhomrani

doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.12.029

Total phenolic, flavonoid contents, and biological activities of stem extracts of Astragalus spinosus (Forssk.) Muschl. grown in Northern Border Province, Saudi Arabia

Saudi J Biol Sci. 2022 Mar;29(3):1277-1282. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.12.029. Epub 2021 Dec 20.

Authors

Naira Nayeem¹, Mohd Imran¹, Syed Mohammed Basheeruddin Asdaq², Syed Imam Rabbani³, Farhan Ali Alanazi⁴, Abdulhakeem S Alamri^{5

6}, Walaa F Alsanie^{5

6}, Majid Alhomrani^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Northern Border University, Rafha 91911, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Dariyah, Riyadh 13713, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Pharmaceutical Care, Rafha Maternity and Children Hospital, Ministry of Health, Rafha, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, The Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Centre of Biomedical Sciences Research (CBSR), Deanship of Scientific Research, Taif University, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background and objective: Genus Astragalus belongs to the family Fabaceae and is one among the largest genera consisting of around 3000 species. The plants have been used traditionally in treatment of various ailments in folklore. The study was planned to assess the analgesic and inflammatory activity of Astragulus spinosus (Forssk.) Muschl extract of the stem.

Materials and methods: Course powder of stems of Astragulus spinosus was extracted using chloroform and methanol as solvents. Folin ciocalteu method was employed for determination of the phenolic acid content. Aluminum chloride colorimetric procedure was followed for estimating the flavonoid content. Both chloroform and methanolic extracts at 250 and 500 mg/kg, were tested for the analgesic activity, however, only methanolic extract was selected for anti-inflammatory property based on the results of analgesic activity. The analgesic effect was executed on male rats by the hot plate model. The anti-inflammatory effect was studied in the carrageenan rat paw edema model. The experimental information was interpreted statistically using one-way ANOVA and p < 0.05 was used to express importance of the results.

Results: The total phenolics of the methanol extract was 420 µg and that of chloroform extract was 265 µgwhile total flavonoid content in terms of quercetin was found to be 68 µg and 17.5 µg for methanol and chloroform extract respectively. Only methanolic extract exhibited significant (p < 0.001) analgesic activity by elevating the pain threshold starting from 15 min. The methanolic extract inhibited (p < 0.001) the edema in carrageenan induced model. The performance of higher dose (500 mg/kg) was better with reference to lower dose (250 mg/kg).

Conclusion: Outcome of the results show that the methanolic stem extracts exhibited significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory-like activity with reference to chloroform extract. Credit of which is given to flavonoids and phenolic content present in the methanolic extract. However, more research is suggested to establish the safety and effectiveness of the herbal drug to manage diseased states including pain and inflammation.

Keywords: Analgesic; Anti-inflammatory; Astragalus spinosus; Carrageenan; Hot plate.