Pharmacological evaluation of traditional claims of Himalayan <i>Citrus medica</i> L.

290-296In India, Citrus medica L. (Citron; Family: Rutaceae) is used traditionally in the treatment of many ailments like urinary calculus, tumours, constipation, carries of the teeth and as vermifuge. The present study investigated the antiurolithiatic effect of hydroalcoholic extract of root and fruit juice and anthelmintic activity of root and seed extracts of C. medica L. Ethylene glycol was used to induce urolithiasis in male Wistar rats. Treatment of urolithiatic rats with hydroalcoholic extract of C. medica L. root and fruit juice significantly lowered the elevated calcium, oxalate and phosphate levels in urine. They also increased the level of stone inhibitor (magnesium) and improved the impairment of renal functions. The mechanism of this activity may be the synergism of its diuretic activity and its ability to maintain balance between stone promoters and inhibitors. In another experiment ethanolic extract of C. medica L. root, its fractions and petroleum ether extract of its seeds were investigated for their activity against Pheretima posthuma. Two concentrations of ethanolic root extract (50 and 100 mg/ml) and its two fractions, chloroform and ethanolic (each 50 mg/ml) along with petroleum ether extract of seeds (10 % v/v emulsion) were studied in the in vitro assay, which involved determination of paralytic and death time. All the tested extracts exhibited considerable anthelmintic activities; root extract was observed more active than the seed extract