Myrica esculenta bark: Study for Anticonvulsant and Analgesic Activity

The plant Myrica esculenta Buch.-Ham ( Fam., Myricaceae) commonly known as Kaiphala or katphala. In India only one species of Myrica is available i.e. Myrica esculenta. The plant Myrica esculenta is one of the most important source of tannin in China but in India, specially in hill areas its medicinally important phytochemicals are widely used in traditional system of medicine. The present study carried out by air dried stem bark, extracted using ethanol as a solvent. On preliminary phytochemical screening of Myrica esculenta stem barks extract revealed the presence of phenolic compounds, tannin, glycosides, flavonoids, carbohydrates, proteins and saponins. In the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, the bark extract of Myrica esculenta on TLC gives 6 spots, it means it contains 6 active compounds, but in the present study, bark extracts of Myrica esculenta gives 8 spots in their TLC experiments. It means it revealed another two active compounds which are present in bark extracts of Myrica esculenta. The study showed that the ethanolic extract from bark of Myrica esculenta can inhibit voltage dependant Na+ channels as Phenytoin in MES induces tonic seizures.