Analgesic properties of aqueous bark extract of Adansonia digitata in Wistar rats.

The study investigated the analgesic effect of the aqueous extract of the bark of Adansonia digitata using Wistar rats. Thirty Wistar rats weighing between 150 and 170g of either sex were used for the study. Animal were picked randomly and grouped into six with each group made up of five animals (3 females and 2 males). Oral administration of 10ml/kg of normal saline were given to control group; 5mg/kg of indomethacin to reference group; and 25mg/kg, 50mg/kg, 100mg/kg or 200mg/kg of aqueous extracts of Adansonia digitata to each of the test groups respectively.Hotplate and formalin paw-licking tests were used for nociceptive assessment. Animals treated with aqueous bark extract of Adansonia digitata showed significantly (p<0.05) prolonged response time to thermal stimuli (4.42±0.11s) compared with control group (3.29±0.29s) in a dose dependent manner. Results formalin paw-licking test showed that at early phase, animals administered with aqueous bark extract of Adansonia digitata significantly (p<0.05) have reduced paw-licking time (47.88±3.48-40.80±3.85s) compared with the control group (91.51±7.32s). In the late phase, aqueous bark extract of Adansoni adigitata significantly (p<0.05) reduced the paw-licking time (43.57±2.6-25.49±3.46s) compared with the control group (66.31±5.04s). It is hereby concluded that aqueous bark extract of A. digitata possesses a strong analgesic effect.