Investigation on in vitro antioxidant and in vivo neurobehavioral effects of Clerodendrum indicum leaf extract

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the antioxidant, anxiolytic, and antidepressant activity of the ethanolic leaf extract of Clerodendrum indicum. Antioxidant potential of the extract was investigated using multiple in vitro assays at different concentrations. In vivo anxiolytic and antidepressant effects were evaluated by animal model at two test doses (200,400 mg/kg BW). A preliminary phytochemical screening was also done through conducting phytochemical group tests of the crude ethanolic extract of C. indicum. The IC50 values of the extract for DPPH radical scavenging was 7.89 µg/ml compared to the standard BHT with IC50 value of 3.25 µg/ml. The phenolic content and flavonoid content were found as 99.28±0.945 mg gallic acid equivalent/gm and 75.13±0.863 mg catechin equivalent/gm of dry plant extract respectively. Moreover, the extract showed remarkable total antioxidant and ferric reducing power activity found to be increase with concentration. The results of neuropharmacological assays demonstrated low antidepressant but significant (p<0.05) anxiolytic activity of the extract in a dose dependent manner compared to the normal control group. Phytochemical analyses were found to be positive for alkaloid, phenol, flavonoid, tannin, glycoside and steroid. The present results support that the ethanolic extract of C. indicum leaves likely to have the potential phytomedicinal value for its considerable antioxidant, anxiolytic and antidepressant effects.