The leaves of
Acalypha wilkesiana
are commonly used for the treatment of pain, fever and ulcer by traditional
medical practitioners without any scientific data to evaluate the appropriateness of some of the practices. Therefore, this
study was carried out to determine whether the ethanol extract of
Acalypha wilkesiana has analgesic, anti-inflammatory
and antipyretic as well as anti-ulcer effects. The hot plate latency assay and formalin- induced paw licking models were
used to evaluate analgesic effects. Animals were divided into groups comprising of five rats each. There were control
(administered saline) and reference (administered indomethacin) groups. Also there were three extract groups administered
25, 50 or 100 mg/Kg body weight of extracts. Ulcer was induced using absolute ethanol followed by pylorus ligation in all
animals; inflammation was induced using carrageenan while pyrexia was induced by injecting brewer’s yeast
intramuscularly into the dorsal part of the abdominal cavities of the rats. Different sets of rats were used for the anti-ulcer,
anti-inflammatory and antipyretic studies although animal grouping for extract administration were as in analgesic studies.
The results show that the extract produced dose-dependent and significant (p<0.05) analgesic and anti-inflammatory
activities. The extract also significantly protected against ethanol induced ulcer. Likewise, the extract significantly
(p<0.05) reduced the pyretic states of the animals. This study has therefore further provides evidences that may support the
ethnomedicinal uses of the ethanolic extracts of
Acalypha wilkesiana leaves.
