Ruellia simplex C. Wright (Acanthaceae): Antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic activities of a novel fatty acid isolated from its leaf extract

Cletus Anes Ukwubile; Henry Nettey; Troy Salvia Malgwi; Nnamdi David Menkiti

doi:10.29228/ijpbp.13

Authors

Cletus Anes Ukwubile University of Maiduguri, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacognosy, Nigeria https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7183-4510
Henry Nettey University of Ghana, School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Legon, Accra, Ghana https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5408-5957
Troy Salvia Malgwi University of Maiduguri, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacognosy, Nigeria https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5051-8754
Nnamdi David Menkiti Ahmadu Bello University, Faculty of Physical Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Zaria, Nigeria https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6979-0088

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29228/ijpbp.13

Keywords:

Ruellia simplex, Antinociceptive, Anti-inflammatory, Antidiabetics, Fatty acid

Abstract

Ruellia simplex is a medicinal plant whose leaf is used to treat pains, inflammation, and diabetes in Nigeria. The current study was undertaken to determine the antinociceptive (analgesics), anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic activities of a novel fatty acid isolated from the leaf extract of R. simplex. Isolation of a novel fatty acid from the most active fraction was carried out on silica gel column chromatography while, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic activities of the isolated compound were evaluated by acetic acid, carrageenan, and alloxan-induced animal models respectively. The chemical structure of the new compound was elucidated by FT-IR, NMR, GC-MS, and LC-MS. The isolated fatty acid showed inhibition of pains by decreasing abdominal writhing in mice in dose dependent fashion as well as reduced paw volume in the carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats at IC₅₀ = 12.5 ± 1.08 μg/ml and 10.21 ± 1.02 μg/ml, respectively, whereas the antidiabetic activity showed a dose dependent reduction in blood sugar levels with IC₅₀ = 6.02 ± 0.01 μg/ml. The compound showed the following features: R-COOH functional group at 3327 wavelength cm^-1 by FTIR; EI-MS [M]^+* at m/z 467, peak area 62.231% and RT 14.086 min by GC-MS; singly charged fragments at m/z 116.1 and m/z 465.1, RT 1.31 min by LC-MS and eight proton signals consisting of singlets and multiplets (¹H), thirty carbon atoms (¹³C) NMR data. From the study, the novel fatty acid from R. simplex extract was potentially active for the treatment of pains, inflammation, and diabetes.

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