Assessment of thrombolytic, antioxidant and analgesic properties of a medicinal plant of Asteraceae family growing in Bangladesh

Objective: This study was carried out to evaluate the thrombolytic, antioxidant and analgesic activity of plant extract of Rudbeckia hirta, a medicinal plant of Asteraceae family.Materials and Methods: For thrombolytic activity, a standard in vitro method was applied. Antioxidant activity was measured by employing method of Folin–Ciocalteu reagent (FCR) or Folin's phenol reagent or Folin–Denis reagent, also called the gallic acid equivalence method (GAE) in which the total phenolic content of methanol extract was determined. Analgesic potential of the methanolic extract was tested using the model of acetic acid induced writhing in mice.Results: The thrombolytic activity measured by a standard method revealed that this plant extract has a dose dependent thrombolytic activity. GAE method showed that the total phenolic content of methanol extract of Rudbeckia hirta was 24.56 mg of GAE/gm of extract. The analgesic activities of the plant extract were significant (p< 0.05) at the dose of 500 mg/kg-body weight in comparison with control animals; however, the activity was less than that of diclofenac Na (standard). Conclusion: Methanolic extract of Rudbeckia hirta leaves have moderate thrombolytic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties