IN-VITRO SCREENING FOR THE ANTIANAPHYLACTIC AGENT IN THONNINGIA-SANGUINEA

Thonningia sanguinea, used prophylactically against bronchial asthma, is anti-anaphylactic and anti-asthmatic in guinea pigs when given oral ly. The aqueous extract of the plant and its fractions were screened i n vitro for their effects on anaphylactic- and histamine-induced contr actions, and the results compared with those obtained in vivo when the whole extract was administered orally. The comparison showed similar anti-anaphylactic properties of the plant material in the two systems of administration, but the effects on histamine-induced contractions d iffered from the in vivo ones, suggesting that the anaphylactic assay system should be preferred for the screening in vitro. The anti-anaphy lactic substance(s) extracted into n-butanol. The active portions of t he extracted components appeared to be stable to acid digestion. Thin layer chromatographic analysis of the butanol extract and preliminary chemical analysis suggest that these substances are polyhydroxy/phenol ic in nature.