Objective Desmos chinensis (Annonaceae) is an underexplored medicinal plant from Southeast Asia with limited pharmacological validation. This study investigated, for the first time, the analgesic, anti‐pyretic, anti‐inflammatory, and anti‐arthritic potential of the methanolic extract of D. chinensis leaf and its solvent‐soluble fractions (n‐hexane, dichloromethane, and ethyl acetate) using in vivo, in vitro, and in silico approaches. Methods Analgesic activity was assessed using the acetic acid–induced writhing method; anti‐pyretic activity was assessed using the brewer’s yeast‐induced pyrexia model; anti‐inflammatory activity was assessed using protein denaturation; and anti‐arthritic activity was assessed using the human red blood cell membrane stabilization method. Result In the writhing test, the ME and ethyl acetate fractions at 400 mg/kg produced marked analgesic effects, with 86.36% and 65.91% inhibition of writhing, respectively, compared with diclofenac (90.45%). In the anti‐pyretic model, ME significantly reduced yeast‐induced hyperthermia, achieving up to 100% reduction in pyrexia within 4 h at 400 mg/kg ( p < 0.001). In vitro assays showed concentration‐dependent anti‐inflammatory and anti‐arthritic activities. ME inhibited protein denaturation with an IC 50 of 337.42 μg/mL, while HRBC membrane stabilization revealed strong anti‐arthritic potential with an IC 50 of 246.34 μg/mL, comparable to diclofenac sodium. Docking analysis revealed favorable interactions between phytoconstituents and inflammation‐related targets. Conclusion This study provides the first integrated pharmacological evidence that D. chinensis leaves possess significant analgesic, anti‐pyretic, anti‐inflammatory, and anti‐arthritic activities. The quantitative efficacy and in silico findings highlight D. chinensis as a promising source of bioactive compounds, warranting further isolation, mechanistic, and preclinical investigations.
Prithy et al. (Thu,) studied this question.