Context: Barringtonia acutangula (L.) Gaertn. (Lecythidaceae) has been used in folk medicine in the treatment of arthralgia, chest pain, dysmenorrhea, inflammation, hemorrhoids, diarrhea, and also in psychological disorders.
Objective: To investigate the antinociceptive, antidiarrheal, and neuropharmacological effect of the methanol extract of B. acutangula leaves and seeds in mice.
Materials and methods: The extracts (200 and 400 mg/kg; p.o.) were tested for antinociceptive activity by acetic acid-induced writhing, hot plate and tail immersion models; castor oil- and magnesium sulphate-induced diarrheal models were used to evaluate antidiarrheal activity whereas hole cross and open field models were employed for testing neuropharmacological activity.
Results: Both extracts exhibited significant antinociceptive effect (p < 0.001) in acetic acid and heat induced pain models in a dose-dependent manner. The extracts prolonged the latency period to the thermal stimuli in both hot plate and tail immersion test. The extracts also showed significant inhibition of defecation (p < 0.001, 0.01) in both diarrheal models. Again, the spontaneous motor activity was decreased (p < 0.001) by the extracts in both hole cross and open field test.
Discussion and conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the methanol extracts of B. acutangula leaves and seeds possess good antinociceptive, antidiarrheal, and central nervous system (CNS) depressant activities. This study validates the use of this plant in traditional medicine.