Phytochemical Screening and in Vitro Anti-Inflammatory Activity Evaluation of the Combined Methanol Leaf Extracts of Ageratum cornyzoides and Cytratus cymbopogon with a Trial Formulation of a Pharmaceutical Suppository

From Literature review 50,000 plant species worldwide have successfully been used for medicinal purposes and amongst these, almost 13% are flowering plants. The practice is now increasing due to increased global health challenges. In Cameroon, the use of plants as a source of treatment for malaria, typhoid, pain, infections and many other diseases is very current. Besides the Asteraceae family, we have other families such as the Poaceae or the Gramineae found in Cameroon which was localised in the Maroua locality where the following species was identified i.e. (Cymbopogon citratus, Pennisetum glaucum, Zea mays and Sorgum bicolor), Cymbopogon citratus possesses various pharmacological activities such as anti-amoebic, antibacterial, antidiarrheal, anti-filarial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties amongst others. Meanwhile, Ageratum conyzoides in Cameroon is a local remedy for skin diseases and wound healing, also the leaves when crushed in water are given as an emetic and are also applied intra vaginally for uterine complications and are used in the treatment of pneumonia. The voucher specimens of Ageratum conyzoides and Cymbopogon citratus were harvested in the (Camrail camp of “cite de la paix”) in the month of November 2020 at 10:20 a.m. Plant stems were then immediately separated from the leaves and other parts after harvesting to optimize the drying process. There after standard procedures for pretreatment of plant materials were followed. After which the extracts were filtered using a 0.45 millipore whatmann filter paper associated with cotton wool. Then, the extracts were concentrated using a rotary evaporator at 60˚C with 102 rotations per minute with percentage yields of 19.13% for Ageratum cornyzoides and 8.83% for Cymbopogon citratus. Phytochemical examinations of the stem extracts were carried out by applying the standard methods. Hence, the presence or absence of various phyto-constituents was determined. The anti-inflammatory activity of the combined extract was studied by using inhibition of albumin denaturation technique with a few modifications at the level of concentration of the solutions. Six suppositories were formulated for each of the extracts. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, phenols tannins and saponins in methanol extracts of Ageratum cornizoides and Cymbopogon citratus. The efficiency of the combined extract increase significantly with an increase in concentration but was less efficient and potent than Aspirin. This is also confirmed by the IC₅₀ value of aspirin (IC₅₀ 350.1 g/ml) which is greater than that of the combined extract (IC₅₀ 292.7 g/ml). The low efficiency and potency of the combined extract is probably due to steric hindrance which prevents the pharmacophore group from acting. The dose-dependent efficiency could be due to polyphenols. Studies also done on terpenoids have been reported to have anti-inflammatory properties. Thus the anti-inflammatory properties could either be due to the presence of polyphenols or terpenoids or both.