40 • Probe •Vol LXII • No. 4 • Sep–Dec 2023 Herbal Notes Bauhinia variegata Sanskrit name Kanchanara English name Mountain Ebony Habit and Habitat Bauhinia variegata is a fast-growing, medium-sized deciduous tree that grows up to 10 to 12 m tall. It commonly grows throughout India and China. The leaves of B variegata are connate; flowers are light magenta; and fruit pods are flat, dehiscent, with 10 to 15 seeds. The bark is light brownish gray and scaly, and the inner bark is fibrous.1,2 Pharmacologic Actions The phytochemical constituents of B variegata include terpenoids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, reducing sugars, steroids, and glycosides. B variegata possesses pharmacological activities such as antioxidant, hypolipidemic, immunomodulatory, anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, insecticidal, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antiulcer, hepatoprotective, antiarthritic, and antimutagenic.1,2 A study evaluated the anti-inflammatory potential of the ethanolic and petroleum ether–soluble extracts of B variegata leaves in albino Wistar rats (weighing 180–200 g). One group received 1% Tween 80 (negative control), another group received 13.5 mg/kg of diclofenac sodium (positive control), and the study groups received either extract of B variegata leaves (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg), orally. Carrageenaninduced paw edema, cotton pellets–induced granuloma formation, and adjuvant-induced arthritis models were used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of B variegata leaf extracts. Paw edema inhibition of 82%, 75.3%, and 80.0%, respectively, was observed on administration of diclofenac sodium and ethanolic and petroleum ether–soluble extracts of B variegata leaves (400 mg/kg). In the cotton pellets–induced granuloma model, diclofenac and the ethanolic (400 mg/kg) and petroleum ether–soluble (200 and 400 mg/kg) extracts showed a significant decrease in the wet cotton pellet weight (60%, 24%, 39%, and 53%, respectively). In the adjuvant-induced arthritis model, edema inhibition was 71% in the diclofenac group and 63% and 65%, respectively, in the ethanolic and petroleum ether–soluble extracts groups (400 mg/kg). The results of this study show that both the extracts of B variegata demonstrate anti-inflammatory activity comparable to that of diclofenac sodium.3 Another study examined the analgesic activity of the ethanolic and aqueous extracts (200 and 400 mg/kg) of B variegata roots in Swiss albino mice (weighing 18–25 g) and albino Wistar rats (weighing 150– 200 g). Eddy’s hot plate method and acetic acid– induced writhing test were used. The results showed that both the extracts dose-dependently reduced the writhing induced by acetic acid. The aqueous extract, at 400 mg/kg, caused the maximum reduction (P < .01), which was better than that caused by the standard drug indomethacin. In the hot plate method, both the extracts dose-dependently protected the mice against thermally induced pain stimulus and exhibited better (P < .01) analgesic activity than that of the standard drug tramadol.4 References 1. Irchhaiya R, et al. Int J Pharmacol. 2014;1(5):279–287. 2. Khare P, et al. Asian J Pharm Pharmacol. 2018;4(5):546–562. 3. Saha S, et al. Pharmaceutical Crops. 2011;2:70–73. 4. Kumar YR, Rajani GP. Int J Pharmacol. 2011;7(5):616–622. Bauhinia variegata is an ingredient of Pilex® forte tablet.
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