Pergularia Daemia as Diuretic and Anti-Inflammatory Agent

Pergularia daemia (Family: Asclepiadaceae), is a perennial herb growing widely along the road sides of India. Traditionally, the plant is utilized in many disease conditions. The studies in this dissertation were conducted to obtain experimental evidence on the therapeutic efficacy of P. daemia as an anti-inflammatory and a diuretic agent. The present studies signify that anti-inflammatory activity of n-butanol fraction (100 and 200 mg/kg) attributed to its ability to inhibit 5-LO and water fraction (100 and 200 mg/kg) via inhibition of COX, apart from their antioxidative activity, immunosuppressant activity, inhibition of mediators like histamine, serotonin, bradykinin, protease and TNF- and inhibition of chemotaxis. Diuretic activity of plant was assessed in rats with furosemide as a standard drug using Lipschitzs test.Administration of n-butanol (200 and 400 mg/kg) and water (200 and 400 mg/kg)fraction leads to diuresis with increase in Na+ and K+ level without altering Na+/ K+ and Cl-/ Na+ + K+ ratio and slight decrease in pH.Phytochemical analysis of n-butanol fraction showed presence of triterpenoids, while water fraction showed presence of flavonoids and phenolic compounds.