Pharmacological studies of methanolic extracts of Sonchus arvensis from Kathmandu

Abstract

Sonchus arvensis, a perennial sow thistle, is a common but underutilized species of Kathmandu, Nepal. Several uses like sedative, antioxidant and kidney stone eradicating properties have been identified till date, but study on other pharmacological activities is not yet explored. Therefore, the plant was collected from Kathmandu; aerial parts of the plant were dried, crushed, and extracted using a Soxhlet apparatus. The methanolic extract was then concentrated for screening pharmacological effects. While comparing with the standards, the plant was found to possess strong anti-inflammatory activity and inhibitory effect in Gastro Intestinal (GI) motility and locomotor activity in a dose-dependent fashion. The plant, however, didn’t show skeletal muscle relaxant activity as observed in the traction test and inclined plane test. Thus, it is concluded that the plant possess strong phyto-chemicals having anti-inflammatory activity and inhibitory effect in locomotion and GI motility.