Abstract

Psoralea corylifolia (Leguminosae) is traditionally used for the treatment of skin conditions, fever and as anthelmintic. The aim of present study was to standardize the crude extract of P. corylifolia and determine its pharmacological activities. The crude extract of P. corylifolia was standardized by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier transform infra red (FT-IR), Fourier transform near infra red (FT-NIR) and ultra violet (UV) spectrophotometric methods. Pharmacological study of the crude extract of P. corylifolia and its fractions were carried out on smooth muscle of rabbit intestine. The results revealed quick decrease in the normal intestinal movement followed by a gradual dose dependant increase in the rhythmic activity of intestine. The antispasmodic response of the crude extract was found most significant at 20 mg/ml (78.13%). The chloroform fraction of the crude extract exhibited maximum antispasmodic response at 10 mg/ml (45.16%). n-butanol and aqueous fractions produced 39.29 and 13.79% antispasmodic effect, respectively, whereas, ethyl acetate fraction produced spasmogenic effect (21.9%). The crude extract of P. corylifolia exhibited positive antifungal activity against Candida albicans and positive antibacterial activity againstStaphylococcus aureus. Significant analgesic effect was also observed with 300 and 500 mg/kg dose at P < 0.05. The analgesic effect of the plant extract (500 mg/kg) was found to be higher than that of diclofenac sodium (50 mg/kg; positive control). Brine shrimp lethality assay was performed and the plant extract did not exhibit any toxicity.

Key words: Psoralea corylifolia, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), standardization, smooth muscles, analgesic, antibacterial, antifungal.