Bangladesh Journal of Pharmacology Research Article Evaluation of diuretic activity of Pas- palidium flavidum in rats BJP Introduction Diuretics are the drugs that promote urine production, sodium excretion and adjust volume of body fluids in various clinical situations. They have been considered an effective treatment for diseases like hypertension, cardiac failure, nephritic syndrome and pulmonary edema (Devi et al., 2010). Historically, these agents have been classified on a variety of on potassium excretion (potassium sparring diuretics; Katzung, 2003). Despite the abundance of these synthetic drugs, a signi- ficant proportion of the population of developing countries depends on traditional ideas such as effi- ciency (high ceiling diuretics), place of action (loop diuretics), structure (thiazide diuretics) and effects medicines for their health related needs. This is due to the fact that the efficacy of the modern synthetic drugs has been only 60%, and generally a combination of these drugs is required to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes. Moreover, side effects from these medica- tions have also raised serious medical concerns (Du and Chen, 2005). According to WHO, about 60% of the population in developed countries rely on traditional herbal medicine, and the percentage is much higher in the developing world (WHO, 2000). Traditional remedies, though effective for a number of diseases, require scientific evaluation to be used to their full extent. Since there has been no regulatory authority to evaluate the rational use of traditional medicines, hence mode of action of most of these traditional medicines remains yet to be elucidated (Tomassoni and Simone, 2001). Therefore, there is a need to determine the efficacy of these traditional herbal medicines. Paspalidium flavidum L. (Family:Poaceae) is a plant indi- genous to Pakistan, which has been used to treat A Journal of the Bangladesh Pharmacological Society (BDPS) Bangladesh J Pharmacol 2013; 8: 177-180 Journal homepage: www.banglajol.info Abstracted/indexed in Academic Search Complete, Agroforestry Abstracts, Asia Journals Online, Bangladesh Journals Online, Biological Abstracts, BIOSIS Previews, CAB Abstracts, Current Abstracts, Directory of Open Access Journals, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Google Scholar, HINARI (WHO), International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Open J-gate, Science Citation Index Expanded, SCOPUS and Social Sciences Citation Index ISSN: 1991-0088 Evaluation of diuretic activity of Paspalidium flavidum in rats Alamgeer1, Muhammad Nasir Hayat Malik1, Sajid Bashir1, Abdul Qayyum Khan1, Muhammad Naveed Mushtaq1, Muhammad Rashid2, Muhammad Akram1 and Sadia Samreen3 1Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan; 2Department of Pharmacy, University of the Faisalabad, Pakistan; 3Department of Zoology, University of the Punjab, Lahore Pakistan. Abstract This study was conducted to investigate the diuretic potential of aqueous methanolic extract of Paspalidium flavidum in rats. The extract at doses of 10, 30 50 and 100 mg/kg was administered intraperitoneally in acute diuretic model. Furosemide (10 mg/kg i.p) was used as standard drug. Total urine volume and urinary excretion of electrolytes were measured. Preliminary phytochemical tests were also performed using standard procedures. The extract exhibiteda significant dose-dependent diuretic effect at all the doses when compared to control group. Urinary excretion of sodium was significantly increased by the extract while a significant increase in potassium excretion was only observed at higher doses. Phytochemical analysis illustrated that the extract contained compounds such as alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides and reducing sugars. It is conceivable therefore that the aqueous methanolic extract of P. flavidum contain certain biologically active compounds that might be responsible for the diuretic activity. Article Info Received: 23 March 2013 Accepted: 25 March 2013 Available Online: 22 April 2013 DOI: 10.3329/bjp.v8i2.14243 Cite this article: Alamgeer, Malik MNH, Bashir S, Khan AQ, Mushtaq MN, Rashid M, Akram M, Samreen S. Evaluation of diuretic activity of Paspalidium fla- vidum in rats. Bangladesh J Pharma- col. 2013; 8: 177-180. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. You are free to copy, distribute and perform the work. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor. diseases such as skin, eyes, teeth, liver and heart disorders (Hussain et al., 2010). At present, there was no scientific study available on the diuretic activity of this plant; hence this study was aimed at exploring the therapeutic potential of aqueous methanolic extract of P. flavidum in diuresis. Materials and Methods Chemicals and drugs Standard grade methanol (Merck Chemical Co, Ger- many) and furosemide (Aventis Pharma Ltd.) were used. Plant material and extraction P. flavidum was collected from a garden in Jauharabad; District Punjab, Pakistan during the month of August, 2010. The plant was identified and authenticated by Haider Ali Shakir (Assistant Director, Soil conserva- tion). A voucher specimen (No. UOS-FP-25) has been deposited in the herbarium of Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sargodha. Aqueous methanolic (70:30) extract of P. flavidum (whole plant) was prepared using cold maceration process (Yuchi et al., 2012). The extract was then air-dried to obtain a solid mass of percentage yield (16%). Animals Both male and female Wistar rats weighing 250-350 g were used for the study. All the animals were housed in controlled environment (23-25°C) and treated in accor- dance with National Institute of Health (Pakistan) guidelines. The study protocol was approved by the local ethical committee of Faculty of Pharmacy, Univer- sity of Sargodha. Diuretic test Rats of either sex weighing (250-350 g) were assigned into six groups (n = 6). Group I served as control and received normal saline (10 mL/kg). The animals in group II were treated with furosemide (10 mg/kg) that served as standard group. Group III and IV received 10 and 30 mg/kg of aqueous methanolic extract of P. flavidum respectively. Animals in Group V and VI were treated with 50 and 100 mg/kg of the extract respec- tively. The animals were fasted overnight (16 hours) prior to the test but with free excess to water only. Briefly, after administration of various doses of the extract by intraperitoneal route, animals in each of these groups were placed in metabolic cages for 6 hours at a temperature of 25 ± 0.5 ºC. Volume of urine collected in diuretic chamber was measured after every hour for 6 consecutive hours. Then total volume of urine (mL) in 6 hours was calculated. Finally, urine volume was ex- pressed as mL/100 g body weight. Urinary electrolytes concentration (Na+ and K+) were measured by flame photometer from the freshly obtained urine. Diuretic action and diuretic activity were also determined using formula: Diuretic action = urine volume of treated group/urine volume of control group; Diuretic activity = diuretic action of treated group/diuretic action of standard group (Patel et al., 2010). Phytochemical analysis The extract was screened for various phytochemical constituents (alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, cardiac glycolsides, sugars) using standard methods (Khandelwal, 2006). Results The aqueous methanolic extract of P. flavidum produced a significant dose-dependent increase in total urine volume when compared to control. A highly significant (p<0.001) diuretic effect was observed at doses from 30 to 50 mg/kg. The maximum increase in urine output was observed at 100 mg/kg. Diuretic effect of the extract at 100 mg/kg was comparable to that of furosemide (Table I). The extract also demonstrated a significant increase in sodium excretion in comparison to control group. An increase (p<0.05) in urinary excretion of potassium was observed only at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg (Table II). Phytochemical analysis indicated that the extract con- tained certain pharmacologically active compounds such as alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, reducing sugars, tannins and cardiac glycosides. Steroids and terpenoids were absent. Discussion Medicinal plants have always been a major target for drug development. P. flavidum, a plant native to Pakis- tan has been used as a diuretic to treat hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases but no pharmaco- logical study has been carried out to test the diuretic activity of this plant. The aqueous methanolic extract of P. flavidum was therefore evaluated for a detailed diuretic study. It is noteworthy that the extract pro- duced a significant dose dependent diuretic effect in comparison to control. Moreover, the extract also exhi- bited an increase in sodium and potassium excretion when compared to control. The active principles responsible for the diuretic activity of the extract have not been elucidated but the preliminary phytochemical analysis revealed that the extract contained compounds such as flavonoids, sapo- nins, cardiac glycosides and tannins. Diuretic activity of the extract can be linked to a number of possible mechanisms. Experimental studies have demonstrated 178 Bangladesh J Pharmacol 2013; 8: 177-180 that cardiac glycosides and tannins are endowed with both diuretic and vasodilator actions (Herrera et al., 2008). It has also been reported that saponins in asso- ciation with compounds such as steroids, vitamin-D and cardiac glycosides produced diuretic response. Similarly, the flavonoids also appeared to exhibit diuretic, anti-inflammatory, and vasoprotective effects by the inhibition of arachidonic acid metabolism (Mythreyi et al., 2008). Therefore, it may be suggested that diuretic effects of the aqueous methanolic extract of P. flavidum might be due to the presence of these substances which may act individually or in combina- tion. Previously it has been well established that increased regional blood flow, vasodilation or an inhibition of tubular secretion contributes to an increased urinary excretion (Stanic and Samarzija, 1993; Pantoja et al., 1993). Hence, any of these processes could be associated with diuretic effect of the extract. Furthermore, an increase in sodium and potassium excretion by the extract might also be involved in diuresis. Conclusion The aqueous methanolic extract of P. flavidum contain certain active compounds that may be responsible for the diuretic activity. Therefore, further studies are required to isolate these pharmacologically active principles and to determine their exact mechanism of action. 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Pune, India, Nirali Bangladesh J Pharmacol 2013; 8: 177-180 179 Table I Diuretic effects of aqueous methanolic extract of Paspalidium flavidum in rats Treatment groups Dose Total urine volume mL/100 g/6 hours Diuresis Diuretic action Diuretic activity Control 10 mL/kg 0.8 ± 0.1 1.0 0.3 Furosemide 10 mg/kg 3.4 ± 0.2a 4.4 1.0 Paspalidium flavidum 10 mg/kg 1.1 ± 0.2b 1.3 0.3 Paspalidium flavidum 30 mg/kg 1.7 ± 0.2a 2.2 0.5 Paspalidium flavidum 50 mg/kg 1.8 ± 0.2a 2.0 0.5 Paspalidium flavidum 100 mg/kg 2.1 ± 0.4a 2.7 0.6 Results are expressed as mean ± SEM (n = 6); ap<0.001 vs. control; bp<0.05 vs. control Table II Effect of Paspalidium flavidum on urinary electrolytes excretion in rats Treatment groups Electrolytes mEq/L Na+/K+ Dose Na+ K+ Control 10 mL/kg 162 ± 6.5 4.9 ± 0.4 33.1 Furosemide 10 mg/kg 246 ± 7.9a 7.5 ± 0.8b 33.0 Paspalidium flavidum 10 mg/kg 174 ± 5.5c 4.9 ± 0.5 35.2 Paspalidium flavidum 30 mg/kg 184 ±7.1b 5.1 ± 0.5 35.9 Paspalidium flavidum 50 mg/kg 191 ± 6.3a 5.8 ± 0.4c 33.0 Paspalidium flavidum 100 mg/kg 205 ± 3.8a 6.0 ± 0.5c 35.0 Results are expressed as means ± SEM (n = 6); ap<0.001; bp<0.01 and cp<0.05 vs. control Prakashan Publishers, 2006, pp 149-53. 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Yuchi A, Malik MNH, Mushtaq MN, Bashir S, Ghumman SA, Akram M, Khan HU, Numan M, Shabbir A. Evaluation of some central nervous system (CNS) activites of aqueous methanolic extract of Paspalidium flavidum Linn. J Med Plant Res. 2012; 6: 3222-27. 180 Bangladesh J Pharmacol 2013; 8: 177-180 Author Info Muhammad Nasir Hayat Malik (Principal contact) e-mail: nasir.malik578@hotmail.com DatePrinted: This article was downloaded by you on: Jun 08, 2018