Antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic and antioxidant effects of the ethanol extract of Crataegus orientalis

The medicinal use of extracts prepared from plant parts of the genus Crataegus (hawthorn)dates back to ancient times. The use of hawthorn in cardiovascular diseases is very commonand it has been proposed that its antioxidant constituents account for this beneficialtherapeutic effects.In this study, the aim was to determine the in vitro antioxidant activity and to investigate forpossible antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic effects of ethanol extract ofleaves of Crataegus orientalis. In order to evaluate the effects of extract on nociceptionnamely hot-plate test, tail-immersion test and acetic acid-induced writhing test were used.Anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic effects were evaluated by using carrageenan-inducedhind paw edema and tail thrombosis models. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of the extractwas determined by using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ß-carotene?linoleic acidassay system.In the tests that were used to determine antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects, theextract was administered 30 min prior to pain induction in dose range of 50, 100, 200 mg/kgintraperitoneally. In the hot-plate test, there was no significant effect in the dose of 50 mg/kgwhen compared to control whereas the doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg exerted significantantinociceptive effect. The antinociceptive effects, which were observed in tail-immersiontest, were significant in all doses when compared to control. In the acetic acid inducedwrithing test, as the dose increases an important decrease in the writhing responses wereobserved. The results that were obtained from anti-inflammatory test showed a dosedependentactivity and the anti-inflammatory activity ranging was between 68.02 and 96.8%at 200 mg/kg dose. In the antithrombotic activity test, it was observed that formation of tailthrombosis was suppressed significantly. The extract was shown to possess antioxidantactivity in DPPH-radical scavenging test and ß-carotene?linoleic acid assay system.According to experimental findings, it was concluded that ethanol extract of C.orientalisdisplayed remarkable antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic and antioxidantactivities.Keywords: Crataegus orientalis, hawthorn, antinociceptive, anti-inflammation,antithrombotic, antioxidant