손바닥선인장의 항염증 활성

Anti-inflammatory Activity of Opuntia ficus-indica

Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica var saboten Makino) is a tropical or subtropical plant, which is widely used as folk medicine for burned wound, edema and indigestion. We previously found that the ethanol extract of cactus stem showed anti-inflanunatory action. This investigation was designed to isolate the active fraction of anti-inflanimatory action from cactus stem by solvent extraction and colunm chromatography. Carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats and acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice were used as animal models to search anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities. respectively. The ethanol extract of cactus stem was consecutively extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol. The hexane fraction was the most effective in carrageenan-induced paw edema, and then was separated in colunm chromatography of silica gel by the elution with hexane/ethyl acetate mixture. The most effective fraction 1 was separated in a second colunm chromatography by eluting with hexane/diethyl ether mixture. The most effective fraction 1-5 was obtained, and separated in a third column chromatography by eluting with hexane/chloroform mixture. It produced the most effective fraction 1-5-1. Moreover, fraction 1-5-1 showed an inhibitory effect on acetic acid-induced writhing in the doses of 30mg/kg and 60mg/kg,p.o.,indicating that it also contained analgesic activity.