Pharmacological Studies on the Potential Anti-inflammatory Effects of a Natural Product(s)

Abstract

Background: Natural products have played a key role in drug discovery contributing to the development of therapeutic agents, which are currently used in modern medicine. Dietes bicolor is an uninvestigated plant that belongs to family Iridaceae and known to be rich in flavonoids. Aim: The current study aimed at investigating the potential anti-inflammatory activity of D. bicolor leaf extract (DBL) and unraveling the underlying mechanisms of such activity. This study aimed also at performing phytochemical analysis of the biologically active fraction as well as standardization of the plant extract using the isolated chemical marker. Methodology: Total leaf extract and fractions were screened for their anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenan-induced paw edema model. The most potent fraction, which was the butanol fraction (DB-BF), was selected for further investigation in carrageenan-induced rat paw edema and croton oil–induced ear edema models. DB-BF was subjected to further phytochemical analysis utilizing several chromatographic techniques. The major compound was isolated and its structure was elucidated using different spectroscopic techniques. The isolated compound was used as a chemical marker for the HPLC standardization experiment of D. bicolor leaf extract.