Antioxidant and antipyretic potential of Amritottara Kwatha Churna based methanolic extract

Abstract BACKGROUND: Amrtottara Kwatha Churna ( AKC ) is an official formulation in the Ayurvedic formulary of India, and it is the most common formulation used to treat different kinds of fevers. This study is accomplished to evaluate the toxicity studies, in vitro antioxidant activities, and in vivo antipyretic activities of the methanolic extract of AKC . METHODS: The DPPH radical, superoxide radical, H 2 O 2 radical, and hydroxyl radical methods were used to test the antioxidant properties. Furthermore, acute (2000 mg/kg) and sub-acute (250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg) toxicity studies, along with the evaluation of antipyretic activity (200, 300, and 400 mg/kg) against brewer’s yeast–induced pyrexia, were conducted using AKC extracts in adult Wistar rats. RESULTS: AKC extract had considerably higher natural scavenging activity with IC 50 values of 116.54, 64.58, 107.23, and 87.23 µg/mL, and potent antipyretic activity at the doses 200 and 400 mg/kg, p.o., comparable to the respective standard. The extract did not produce dose-dependent changes in relative organ weight, hematological and biochemical parameters in the repeated dose toxicity studies (28-day study). CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that the presence of polyphenolics and their potential as antioxidants could make AKC useful in the treatment of different types of fever.