Bangladesh Journal of Pharmacology Volume: 17; Number 2; Year 2022 Cite this article as: Gaikwad RG, Nadaf SJ, Shinde AJ. Anti-inflammatory activity of Memecylon malabari- cum. Bangladesh J Pharmacol. 2022; 17: 51-53. Anti-inflammatory activity of Memecylon malabaricum Sir, Recently, herbal medicines have received attention because of their ease of availability, minimum severe adverse effects, and safer treatment of ample illnesses. Inflammation is the protective measure of the immune system against injury, illness and harmful agents/ stimuli. Uncontrolled inflammation can be responsible for ample disorders including allergies, cardiovascular dysfunctions, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and auto- immune diseases. Several medicinal plants namely, Actinia tenebrosa (Kumari et al., 2019), Borago officinalis (Asaad et al., 2020), Boswellia serrata (Siddiqui, 2011), Cuminum cyminum (Asaad et al., 2020), Curcuma longa (Jurenka, 2009), Dracaena victoria (Sundar and Arunachalam, 2020), Oenothera biennis (Granica et al., 2013), Ribes nigrum (Tabart et al., 2012), Rosa canina (Lattanzio et al., 2011), Rosmarinus officinalis (Takaki et al., 2008), Salvia officinalis (Baricevic et al., 2001), and etc. are previously been recognized for their anti-inflammatory responses. However, the quest to develop alternative substances with promising anti-inflammatory potential is ongoing. The anti-inflammatory effect of Memecylon edule (Nualkaew et al., 2009) and M. malabaricum (Rekha et al., 2014) had been described. M. malabaricum contains memecylaene which reduced the edema in sub-acute carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats in a dose- dependent manner (Rekha et al., 2014). It inhibited the phospholipases A2’s V and VIII of Russell viper venom. The present investigation is aimed to screen the methanolic extract of M. Malabaricum leaves for anti- inflammatory and antioxidant potential. The M. malabaricum leaves were collected from Pilikula botanical garden, Mangalore, Karnataka, India (12° 55′ 48.93″ N; 74° 53′ 43.75″ E). Herbarium sheet of M. malabaricum plant was prepared and submitted to the Botanical Survey of India, Pune, for authentication. Shade dried leaves of M. malabaricum were extracted using a continuous hot extraction process (soxhlet extraction) using methanol as a solvent for 6 hours. Further, the extract was concentrated using a rotary evaporator (Heidolph, Germany). The dried extract was collected and stored at 4°C until further use. The preliminary phytochemical screening tests were performed using the standard protocol to confirm the presence of secondary metabolites (Bargah, 2015). Antioxidant activity of methanolic extract of M. malabaricum leaves was estimated using DPPH (1, 1- diphenyl-2, picryl-hydrazyl) free radicals assay. 100 μL of different concentrations (200, 400, 600, 800, 1000 μg/ mL) of M. malabaricum leaves extract was taken in the microtiter plate. Methanolic DPPH (0.1%) was added to samples and incubated in dark conditions for 30 min. The observation was done for discoloration and reading carried on an Elisa plate reader at 490 nm. Percent free radical scavenging activity was calculated using the following equation: In vitro anti-inflammatory activity was assessed with the standard procedure. Briefly, the reaction mixture (2 mL) consisted of 0.1 mL 5% aqueous bovine serum fraction, 1.8 mL of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH 6.4), and 0.1 mL of M. malabaricum leaves extract. A similar volume of double-distilled water served as a control. Then, the mixtures were incubated at (37 ± 2°C) in an incubator for 15 min and then heated at 57°C for 30 min. After cooling, their absorbances were measured at 660 nm using the vehicle as a blank. Aspirin was used as a reference drug and treated similarly to deter- mine absorbance. The percentage inhibition of protein denaturation was calculated with the following formula: All preliminary phytochemical screening tests on the methanolic extract were carried out to identify the valu- able phytoconstituents using standard methods. The results indicated the presence of flavonoids, tannins, resins, and saponins. Our results correlate with the previous reports (Hullatti and Rai, 2004; Vivek, 2014). At a higher concentration (500 µg/mL), the antioxidant activity exhibited by M. malabaricum leaves extract (53.0 ± 1.1) was relatively closer to the standard ascorbic acid (67.1 ± 0.6%; Figure 1A). M. malabaricum leaves extract was also screened for anti -inflammatory potential with the protein denaturation A Journal of the Bangladesh Pharmacological Society (BDPS) Bangladesh J Pharmacol 2022; 17: 51-53 Journal homepage: www.banglajol.info; www.bdpsjournal.org 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, Global Health, Google Scholar, HINARI (WHO), International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Open J-gate, Science Citation Index Expanded, SCOPUS and Social Sciences Citation Index ISSN: 1991-0088; DOI: 10.3329/bjp.v17i2.59115 Letter to the Editor This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International 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 http://www.pilikula.com/botanical_list/botanical_name_m/memecylon_malabaricum.html http://www.pilikula.com/botanical_list/botanical_name_m/memecylon_malabaricum.html method using aspirin as standard. The protein denatu- ration is excellent in vitro model for analysis of the anti- inflammatory activity. The anti-inflammatory effects are preferred commonly in the antipsoriatic treatment as these may reduce the pains associated with it. M. malabaricum leaves extract showed 63.6% anti-infla- mmatory activity compared to aspirin which exhibited 77.1% anti-inflammatory activity (Figure 1B). Thus, further preclinical studies are recommended to identify the underlying mechanisms. The authors are thankful to the Principal, Dr. H. N. More, Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Pharmacy, for providing facili- ties for research work. The authors are also grateful to Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research, Training and Human Development Institute, Pune, for providing financial assistance in work. Ravindra G. Gaikwad1, Sameer J. Nadaf2 and Anilkumar J. Shinde1 1 Department of Pharmaceutics Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Pharmacy, Kolhapur, India; 2 Sant Gajanan Maharaj College of Pharmacy, Site-Chinchewadi, Mahagaon, Maharashtra, India. Corresponding author: Email: anilkumar.shinde@bharatividyapeeth.edu References Asaad GF, Redai A, Hakami AO, Ghazwani FY, Nomier Y, Alshahrani S. Potential analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect of Cuminum cyminum and Borago officinalis in rats and mice. Asian J Pharm Clin Res. 2020; 13: 216-18. Bargah RK. Preliminary test of phytochemical screening of crude ethanolic and aqueous extract of Moringa pterygo- sperma Gaertn. J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2015; 4: 7-9. Baricevic D, Sosa S, Della Loggia R, Tubaro A, Simonovska B, Krasna A, Zupancic A. Topical anti-inflammatory activity of Salvia officinalis L. leaves: The relevance of ursolic acid. J Ethnopharmacol. 2001; 75: 125-32. Granica S, Czerwińska ME, Piwowarski JP, Ziaja M, Kiss AK. Chemical composition, antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activity of extracts prepared from aerial parts of Oenothera biennis L. and Oenothera paradoxa Hudziok obtained after seeds cultivation. J Agric Food Chem. 2013; 61: 801-10. Hullatti KK, Rai VR. Antimicrobial activity of Memecylon malabaricum leaves. Fitoterapia 2004; 75: 409-11. Jurenka JS. Anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin, a major constituent of Curcuma longa: A review of preclinical and clinical research. Altern Med Rev. 2009; 14: 141-53. Killedar SG, Mali SS, More HN, Nadaf SJ, Salunkhe SS, Karade RS. Phytochemical screening and in vitro antioxidant poten- tial of Memecylon umbellatum Burm leaf extracts. J Drug Deliv Ther. 2014; 4: 30-35. Kumari KA, Dagha RC, Gawali PG, Jadhav BL. Anti- inflammatory effect of Actinia tenebrosa. Bangladesh J Pharmacol. 2019; 14: 125-26. Lattanzio F, Greco E, Carretta D, Cervellati R, Govoni P, Speroni E. In vivo anti-inflammatory effect of Rosa canina L. extract. J Ethnopharmacol. 2011; 137: 880-85. Nualkaew S, Rattanamanee K, Thongpraditchote S, Wongkra- jang Y, Nahrstedt A. Anti-inflammatory, analgesic and wound healing activities of the leaves of Memecylon edule Roxb. J Ethnopharmacol. 2009; 121: 278-81. Rekha ND, Gowda TV, Aradhya SM, Suresha RN, Jayashree K. Anti-inflammatory properties of Memecylaene: A novel compound isolated from Memecylaene malabaricum. Res J Pharm Biol Chem Sci. 2014; 5: 1645-54. Siddiqui MZ. Boswellia serrata, a potential anti-inflammatory agent: An overview. Indian J Pharm Sci. 2011; 73: 255-61. Sundar RD, Arunachalam S. Anti-inflammatory and antifungal activity of Dracaena victoria leaf extract. Bangladesh J Pharmacol. 2020; 15: 44-45. Tabart J, Franck T, Kevers C, Pincemail J, Serteyn D, Defraigne JO, Dommes J. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Ribes nigrum extracts. Food Chem. 2012; 131: 1116-22. Takaki I, Bersani-Amado LE, Vendruscolo A, Sartoretto SM, Diniz SP, Bersani-Amado CA, Cuman RK. Anti- inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of Rosmarinus officinalis L. essential oil in experimental animal models. J 52 Bangladesh J Pharmacol 2022; 17: 51-53 Figure 1: Antioxidant (A) and in vitro anti-inflammatory (B) activities of Memecylon malabaricum leaves extract % I n h ib it io n 100 80 60 40 20 0 B A Ascorbic acid M. malabarium 100 200 300 400 500 Concentration (µg/mL) Aspirin M. malabarium 100 200 300 400 500 Concentration (µg/mL) mailto:Anilkumar.shinde@bharatividyapeeth.edu Med Food. 2008; 11: 741-46. Vivek MN, Kambar Y, Kekuda PT, Manasa M, Raghavendra HL. Antimicrobial and radical scavenging activity of Memecylon malabaricum (CB Clarke) Cogn. and Memecylon talboltianum Brandis. J Sci Technol. 2014; 3: 174-79. Bangladesh J Pharmacol 2022; 17: 51-53 53