The Role of Andrographolide in Andrographis paniculata as a Potential Analgesic for Herbal Medicine based Drug Development
Authors: Tumewu Lidya , Pamungkas Irfan Rayi , Ilmi Hilkatul , Fuad Hafid Achmad , Tantular Indah Setyawati , Suciati Suciati , Sri Wahyuni Tutik , Widyawaruyanti Aty 
Published: January 2022

Background: Andrographis paniculata is a herbaceous plant in the Acanthaceae family, that is widely used as a traditional medicine in Asian countries and known to exhibit a wide range of pharmacological effects. Recent studies have provided an overview of the great potential of A. paniculata as an analgesic. The ethanol extract and ethyl acetate (EA) fraction of A.paniculata were shown to contain diterpene lactone compounds, which may be useful as a potential active ingredient in analgesic drugs. The development of a herbal medicine based drug requires an effective and high quality active ingredient. Therefore, this research was aimed to compare the analgesic activity of ethanol extract and EA fraction based on their andrographolide content and further to determine the more viable active substance for analgesic herbal medicine based drug development. Method: The andrographolide content in the ethanol extract and EA fraction was determined by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Measurement of analgesic activity was performed by writhing test. The experimental animals were randomly divided into eight groups consisting of 5 mice in each. Group 1 (negative control) received 1% Tween-80 in normal saline. Group 2 (positive control) received a standard analgesic drug (diclofenac sodium) at a dose of 40 mg/kg body weight. Group 3, 4, and 5 received ethanol extract while Group 6, 7, and 8 received EA fraction, each at a dose of 12.5, 25, and 50 mg andrographolide/kg body weight, respectively. Each mouse was injected intraperitoneally with 1% acetic acid at a dose of 10 ml/kg body weight 30 minutes after oral administration of the treatments. The number of writhes were counted 5 min after acetic acid injection over a period of 45 min. Results: Andrographolide content in ethanol extract and EA fraction was 15.66±0.28 and 21.25±1.08 % w/w, respectively. Ethanol extract and EA fraction displayed analgesic activity of 67.68% and 70.91% respectively, at a dose of 50 mg andrographolide/kg body weight. The positive control at a dose of 40 mg/kg body weight showed an analgesic activity of 74.33%. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences between EA fraction at a dose of 50 mg andrographolide/kg body weight and ethanol extract at the same dose as well as the positive control (P> 0.05). The effective dose 50% (ED50) of the ethanol extract and EA fraction was determined to be 29.49 and 25.55 mg/kg body weight, respectively. Conclusion: It was possible to use andrographolide content as an indicator for the analgesic activity of A.paniculata. Ethanol extract and EA fraction of A. paniculata at the same dose of andrographolide showed similar analgesic activity. The amount of ethanol extract which needed to reach similar analgesic activity was higher than EA fraction. Therefore, EA fraction likely has greater potential as an analgesic active substance due to its higher content of andrographolide; however further study is needed to develop it as a dosage form.