Chemical profiling and anti-psoriatic activity of methanolic extract of Andrographis nallamalayana J.L.Ellis

Abstract

Andrographis nallamalayana is being widely used as tribal medicine in the treatment of leucoderma and mouth ulcers. Chemical profiling of methanolic extract of the whole plant (PE), using GC–MS and LC–MS, revealed the presence of compounds viz. α-tocopherol, β-sitosterol, tetradecanoic acid, monostearin, flavones/flavanones and their glycosides, chromones, etc. Topical application of imiquimod on the dorsal portion of male BALB/C mice resulted in the development of psoriatic symptoms (erythema, scaling, thickening and folding) with a mean disease activity index (DAI) of >7.0. Topical treatment with 100-μL PE (~6.4%/12.8%) formulations, for 12-days, resulted in the alleviation of disease symptoms. Compared to water-based formulations, emu oil-based formulation, PE400EO was found more effective in reducing the mean DAI (>84%), keratinocyte count (>65%) (p < 0.01) and interleukin-22 (~70%) (p < 0.05). We report, for the first time, anti-psoriatic activity of A. nallamalayana having great potential in developing a potent phytomedicine against psoriasis.

Keywords:

• Andrographis nallamalayana
• chemical profiling
• antipsoriatic activity
• mouse model
• interleukin-22

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Dr Sekhar Bathina, Clintox bioservices, Hyderbad, for extending the animal house facility. We thank Prof T. Papi Reddy for critical evaluation of the manuscript. We acknowledge the financial support from University Grants Commission, New Delhi. NC and BSR thank UGC, New Delhi for providing research fellowships.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.