Pharmacological evaluation of methanol extract of Ziziphus mauritiana LAM leaves for treatment of asthma COPD co morbid condition of COPD associated obesity

Abstract

Worldwide there is a growing demand for Ayurveda and other traditional forms of medicine. The ethno botany provides a rich resource for natural drug research and development. In India, about 80% of the rural population uses medicinal herbs or indigenous systems of medicine. The Indian subcontinent is a vast repository of medicinal plants that are used in traditional medical treatments. The genus Ziziphus (Rhamnaceae) comprises of approximately 170 species and is importantly used in the treatment of various diseases. Its leaves are known to be used in the treatment of diarrhoea, fever and obesity. Considering the lack of pharmacological and toxicological documentation of the plant, the present study aims to evaluate the toxicological and pharmacological basis for the therapeutic use of Ziziphus mauritiana Lam leaves for the treatment of chronic eosinophilic and neutrophilic inflammation in lungs and its comorbid condition with obesity. Methanolic extract of the Ziziphus mauritiana Lam leaf (MEZ) was fractionated from which betulinic acid (BA) was identified as the major active ingredient. The extract and the isolated compound was subjected to toxicological evaluation followed by therapeutic evaluation against asthma, COPD and COPD associated obesity. Oral administration of MEZ 500mg/kg and BA 50mg/kg significantly (plt0.001) inhibited ovalbumin-induced increases in total cell counts, eosinophil counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. In addition, MEZ 500mg/kg and BA 50mg/kg reduced ovalbmuin-induced increase in mRNA levels of infiltration of inflammatory cells and mucus hypersecretion in lungs. newline