Phytochemical Screening and Pharmacological Activities of Entada Scandens seeds

: Entada scandens (E. scandens) (family: Mimosaceae) is a widely used medicinal plant has been traditionally used by the folklore medicinal practitioners of Bangladesh to treat pain, cancer, gastrointestinal disorders where antinociceptive, cytotoxic and anti-diarrheal medications are implicated. Therefore, phytochemical groups and antinociceptive, cytotoxic, and anti-diarrheal activities of ethanol extract of seed of E. scandens were investigated by using acetic acid induced writhing model in mice, brine shrimp lethality bioassay and castor oil induced diarrheal model in mice. Phytochemical study of the extract indicated the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, flavonoids and saponins. At the doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight, the extract showed a significant antinociceptive activity showing 60.61 and 72.73% inhibition respectively (P<0.001) comparable to that produced by Diclofenac Na (80.30%) used as standard drug. The extract showed significant toxicity in the brine shrimp lethality bioassay (LC50: 20μg/ml & LC90: 80μg/ml). While evaluating anti-diarrheal activity, the extract inhibited the mean number of defecation which were 13.21% (P<0.01) and 22.64 % (P<0.001) at the doses of 250 and 500mg/kg respectively. The latent period for the extract treated group was (p<0.01) increased as compared to control group. In addition, antimicrobial study was carried out by disc diffusion assay, but no significant inhibition was found against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aureus, Plesiomonas shigelloides, Salmonella typhi, S. paratyphi, Shigella dysenteriae, S. flexneri, S. boydii, S. sonnei, Proteus vulgaris, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, S. aureus, S. epidermidis and Streptococcus pyogenes. The study tends to suggest the antinociceptive, cytotoxic and antidiarrheal activities of the crude ethanol extract of the seed of E. scandens and justify its use in folkloric remedies. Industrial relevance: Medicinal plants can form an excellent source for derivation of lead compounds or newer drugs. The knowledge base of folk medicinal practitioners can in this instance form an invaluable source on which further scientific studies may be based, for the folk medicinal practices of the Kavirajes date back to centuries ago. They also have proved to be a rich source of new active compounds which are less toxic and less costly when compared to the synthetic drugs. The present study will help the industry to produce herbal drug with less side effect, economically affordable and more effective in the treatment of pain, diarrhea and inf