Pharmacological Evaluation of Bark of Ficus religiosa Linn. in Vata Rakta with Special Reference to Hyperuricemia

Introduction: Ficus religiosa Linn. (Moraceae) is a pharmacopoeial drug of Ayurveda, commonly known as peepal in Hindi. This is a source drug for the plant Ashvattha in Ayurveda. The plant has a religious and ancient history found all over India. The tree is found to be sacred because of its religious rituals. It has also got the importance in medicinal science and hence used in different systems of medicine such as Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy. The drug is considered to be precious because of its wide therapeutic efficacy. The different parts of this plant like bark, leaves, tender shoots, fruit, seed, latex etc. are being used for different ailments since ages. Acharyas in samhita have mentioned the use of Ashvattha in various contexts. Vata rakta is one such disease where the bark kashaya of Ashvattha is used. One of the correlations for vata rakta in modern science is gout in which one of the parameters assessed is hyperurecemia. Here the pharmacological study is conducted as a preclinical study by using different experimental models. Methods: The experimental study was carried out in the Pharmacology department of SDM Centre for Research in Ayurveda and Allied Sciences, Udupi. The anti-hyperuricemic activity has been assessed by Potassium oxonate induced hyperuricemic model. Result: The experimental study had shown bark kashaya as extremely significant values in serum uric acid and urine uric acid parameters in anti-hyperuricemic activity. Conclusion: The experiment has shown Ashvattha bark to have potential anti-hyperuricemic activity.