Wantana Reanmongkol, Sanan Subhadhirasakul, and Pisit Bouking

pp. 467 - 476

Abstract

Dried coarsely powdered material from the stem woods of Dracaena loureiri Gagnep (D loureiri) has
extracted with hexane and methanol to give hexane and methanol extracts, respectively. The methanol extract was roughly separated into four fractions. They were methanol, methanol + water, chloroform and
ethyl acetate fractions. The effects of the methanol extract, hexane extract, methanol fraction, methanol +
water fraction, ethyl acetate fraction and chloroform fraction on nociceptive response using writhing, hot
plate and formalin tests in mice and the antipyretic activity in yeast-induced fever in rats, were examined.
General behavior was also examined using pentobarbital-induced sleep in mice. The LD₅₀ value of intraperitoneally injected the methanol extract, hexane extract, methanol fraction, ethyl acetate fraction and
chloroform fraction in mice was 1.67 g/kg, >7 g/kg, 739.73 mg/kg, 489.77 mg/kg and 1.67 g/kg, respectively.
Oral administration of the methanol extract and methanol fraction of D. loureiri (100-400 mg/kg) dose dependently decreased the number of writhings and stretchings induced by acetic acid and licking activity of
the late phase in the formalin test. All extracts or fractions of D. loureiri had no effects on heat-induced pain
in mice. Only the methanol fraction of D. loureiri suppressed yeast-induced fever in rats. Neither extracts
nor fractions affected paw edema induced by carrageenin in rats. The methanol extract of D. loureiri (100-
400 mg/kg, p.o.) prolonged the duration of pentobarbital-induced sleep in mice. These results suggest that
the methanol extract and the methanol fraction of D. Loureiro possess analgesic effect. Only the methanol
fraction of the extract exhibited antipyretic effect.