• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.139-147
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• 1995

Crinum asiaticum var. japonicum is a wild plant growing only in Jeju-island, Korea, and in Japan. The whole part of this plant has been known to have the pharmacological actions such as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, platelet-aggregation inhibitory, antitussive, and expectorant. With these assumed actions, the leaves (Crinum folium) of this plant has been used in the folk remedies for arthritis and arthralgia. There is, however, no scientific evidences for the pharmacological actions of Crinum asiaticum var. japonicum. In the present study, the analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and platelet-aggregation inhibitory actions of Crinium folium were evaluated using writhing test, tail-flick test, carrageenin antiedema test, in vitro thromboxane $B_2$ quantitation assay and in vitro platelet aggregation test. In order to obtain the partially purified fraction whose pharmacological action is excellent, the methanol extract of Crinium folium was fractionated consecutively into four biological fractions such as ether, ethyl acetate, butanol, and water fractions and their pharmacological actions of the fractions were investigated. Putting our results together, Crinium folium, especially ethyl acetate fraction was proven to have significant analgesic, anti-inflammatory and platelet-aggregation inhibitory actions by inhibition of prostanoids biosynthesis as one of its mechanism of action.