Biological potential of Moluccella laevis L. aerial parts, family Lamiaceae (Labiatae)

The current study aimed to determine the various in vivo biological activities of Moluccella laevis L. aerial parts. The anti-inflammatory activity demonstrated after two h, for both the total ethanolic extract (TEE) and the petroleum ether (pet. ether) fraction, exhibited the same percentage of inhibition (26.24%) as that of the indomethacin, whereas the following hour showed results quite higher than that of the positive control. Additionally, the TEE showed higher antipyretic activity compared to the used standard acetylsalicylic acid with a rapid onset (30 min) and a longer duration exhibiting the maximum activity. After four h from the beginning of the experiment, the pet. ether, ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and aqueous fractions displayed nearly the same effect as that of acetylsalicylic acid, which lasted up to five h. Moreover, the aqueous fraction exhibited the maximum analgesic activity with a rapid onset and a longer duration followed by the pet. ether fraction, TEE and the EtOAc fraction. These activities could be explained by the presence of the highest amount of phenolic and flavonoidal contents, which are found in both EtOAc fraction and TEE. Due to the pronounced results of M. laevis L. aerial parts, it can be considered as a success of natural products in further drug discovery.