THE EFFECTS OF PHILIPPINE PINEAPPLE (ANANAS COMOSUS VAR, QUEEN) ON CARRAGEENAN-INDUCED PAW EDEMA OF MALE ALBINO MICE (MUS MUSCULUS)

Pharmacology Thesis

Bromelain, an enzyme derived from pineapple (Ananas comusus) has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. This study made use of Ananas comosus of the Queen variant, which is the pineaaple commonly found in the Philippines. Twenty male albino mice were infused with carrageenan (an inflammatory agent) to demonstrate said effects of the enzyme. Afterwhich the mice were randomized and grouped into 5 under one of the following treatments: distilled water, which served as the negative control; acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin) which served as the positive control and pineapple extract with the following dosage: 5000 mg/kgBW and 10000 mg/kgBW Paw inflammation was measured every hour for 3 hours using a modified mercurial plethysmometer. Changes in paw innflammation were recorded as mercurial displacement after immersion of the paw. Results revealed no significant difference, F=.517 (df=3), across groups. Paired t-test also revealed no significant change in paw inflammation within treatment groups. The pineapple extract did not significantly show any anti-inflammatory effects on the subjecys` paw after induced inflammation. However, the results of the study should be used with caution, since technical errors could have accounted for the non-significant results. Furthermore, the enzyme was not isolated unlike previous studies which have specifically isolated bromelain from pineapple.