Pain-Relieving Property of the Aqueous Extract of Scent Leaf (Ocinum gratissimum L.) Grown in Jos
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70882/josrar.2026.v3i4.243Keywords:
Toxicity, acetic acid-pain-induction, Pain-reliever, D.melanogaster, Rat-model, O. gratissimum, Aqueous extractAbstract
Pain is a common ailment to all humans irrespective of gender or race. Previous reports have shown that Ocimum gratissimum aqueous extracts possess bioactive compounds with analgesic property This study explored the pain-relieving property of the aqueous extract of O. gratissimum using rat models. The extract was characterized with FTIR spectroscopy analysis while the phytochemical screening was done by chemical analysis; toxicology was perfumed using Drosophila melanogaster model. The qualitative photochemistry revealed the presence of alkaloids(+), flavonoid(++), saponins(+), steroids(+++), terpenoids(++), glycoside(+), tannins(+) and phenolics (+) in low to high concentrations while quantitative analysis showed that the extract contains alkaloids (0.012±0.001), flavonoids (0.361±0.002), saponins (5.169±0.001), steroids (0.173±0.001), terpenoids (0.234±0.001),glycosides(0.565±0.002), tannins (0.253±0.001), phenolic (2.163±0.003) all in g / 100 g. The FTIR spectrum revealed some functional groups (OH, NH) consistent with the obtained phytochemical compounds. The high LC50 (2181 mg/10g) obtained from the toxicology suggests a low toxicity of the plant’s aqueous extract. The plant extract orally administered to the acetic acid-induced-writhing-rats significantly decreased the writhes counts in 40 minutes, which could be associated to the extract’s analgesic activity. In low dosage the extract exhibited 44.49% as against the standard drug of 50.93 writhing inhibitions suggesting an impressive activity of the extract of the plant. The presence of alkaloids, saponins, phenolics and others may be responsible for the pain-relieving activity observed. Therefore, this study suggests that the plant may be considered as a potential candidate for analgesic and pain-killer formulations. Further studies are required to establish its activity on menstrual cramps and exploration of the extracts on mechanical and thermal pain-induced models.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Chukuka Achuenu, Simon Tanko, Miracle Oluebube Nworie, Alexander Oba Edah, Esther A. Adelakun (Author)
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