Search

Abstract Background Analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and sedative drugs are available with potential side effects such as peptic ulcer and addiction among other things. In this regard, research is underway to find safe, effective, and economical drugs free of these side effects. In this study, an isolated natural product from Diospyros lotus, was tested for the aforementioned bioactivities. Objectives To evaluate analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and sedative potential of D. lotus extracts in animal paradigms using BALB/c mice as experimental model. Methods Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and sedative activities of dinaphthodiospyrol G (1) isolated from the chloroform fraction of D. lotus were evaluated using different experimental procedures. Anti-inflammatory effect was evaluated using the carrageenan and histamine-induced paw edema, whereas the antinociceptive effect was quantified by means of the hot plate analgesiometer. On the other hand, the sedative effect was determined using animal assay for screening the locomotors effects of compound 1. Compound 1 was also subjected to molecular modeling studies against cyclooxygenase enzymes. Results Results from this investigation showed that the extract is devoid of anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive potentials but has a significant sedative effect, whereas the tested compound exhibited 55.23 and 78.34% attenuation in paw edema by carrageenan and histamine assays, respectively. A significant (p