Abstract:
Conventional medications are expensive and arguably associated with various severe adverse effects, hence the
need to develop herbal agents that are effective as alternative. Carissa edulis (Forssk.) Vahl is the herb that has
previously made thousands of people flock to a remote Loliondo village in Northern Tanzania, for its cure said
to apply to all diseases such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, ulcers, hypertension, and diabetes. Although C. edulis
(Forssk.)Vahl is widely used for pain in the traditional system of medicine; review of the literature shows no
scientifically investigated report of its described effects. This study was, therefore, designed to bioscreen the
DCM: methanolic extract of the leaf and root bark of C. edulis on anti-nociceptive potential. The plant parts
were collected from Siakago-Mbeere north sub-county, Embu County, Kenya. Pain was induced into the rats
experimentally using formalin. Anti-nociceptive activities in rats were compared with diclofenac (15 mg/kg) as
the standard conventional drug. The leaf extract reduced pain by between 47.04% - 47.19% (in the early phase)
and 38.96% - 89.26% (in the late phase) while the root bark extracts reduced it by between 21.5% - 41.89% (in
the early phase) and between 21.4% - 90.62% (in the later phase). Diclofenac reduced pain by between 27.37%
- 34.9% (in the early phase) and 88.24% - 90.28% (in the late phase). Further, the phytochemical screening
results showed that the extract had alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, saponins, phenolics and terpenoids which
have been associated with anti-nociceptive activities. Therefore, the study has established that the DCM:
methanolic extracts of C. edulis (Forssk.)Vahl are effective in the management of pain
