2018, Vol. 6, Issue 1, Part A

author(s)
Jessy Jacob, NA Aleykutty and Jyoti Harindran

abstract
Blepharis maderaspatensis (L.) B. Heyne ex Roth is a creeping herb native to many parts in central and peninsular India. It has been reported to be used as a diuretic by tribals of Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, India. So in the current work the diuretic activity was evaluated using the lipschitz method. It was decided to test the efficacy of different extracts (petroleum ether (60-80 ºC) extract, ethyl acetate extract and dry alcoholic extract) of Blepharis maderaspatensis (L.) B.Heyne ex Roth for the diuretic activity. The study was carried out at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight with the different extracts and results obtained showed that only the alcoholic extract showed diuretic activity. Further studies were carried out using the dry alcoholic extract only. Different doses of the extract, i.e., 200,400 and 600 mg/kg body weight were used for the diuretic evaluation study and results showed that the doses of 400 and 600mg/kg body weight yielded results almost at par with loop diuretic (Frusemide). It was seen that the dry alcoholic extract showed promising results with a lipschitz value of 1.4 and 1.44 for the medium as well as high doses. The tests are a conclusive evidence for the ethnobotanical study reports. Thus opening avenue for use of this drug as a potent diuretic.