SCREENING OF RANDIA DUMETORUM LAMK. EXTRACTS FOR ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY USING MOUSE MODEL OF HCL-INDUCED ALI

Acute Lung Injury (ALI) and its more severe form Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is a clinical syndrome with a high mortality rate (27-41%). There is no pharmacological therapy for ALI treatment so far because of the complex mechanism and involvement of multiple pathways. So, the present study was designed to test the role of different extract/fractions of fruits of a traditional plant Randia dumetorum Lamk. utilizing a mouse model of acid aspiration (HCl) mediated ALI. Hydromethanolic extract (HME) was screened for anti-inflammatory activity at 100, 200, and 400mg/kg doses employing total and differential cell count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Our data demonstrated that oral administration of HME in mice before induction of ALI resulted in reducing the number of BALF inflammatory cells, particularly neutrophils, in a dose-dependent manner. Further, HME was partitioned into ethyl acetate soluble (EASF) and ethyl acetate insoluble fraction (EAISF) to extract phytoconstituents based on differential polarity. Our data revealed that EAISF showed better efficacy than EASF for the amelioration of lung inflammation. Similarly, bioactive EAISF was partitioned into ethanol-soluble (ESF) and ethanol insoluble fraction (EISF), where ESF had more potent anti-inflammatory activity in mice w.r.t. EISF as depicted by the number of total cells and neutrophils in the lungs of mice. Overall, our results validate the traditional use of Randia dumetorum fruits in managing respiratory ailments, and further fractionation/investigation of ESF is encouraged to unveil the bioactive ingredient possessing anti-inflammatory potential.