IN VIVO EVALUATION OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF ASTRAEUS HYGROMETRICUS ON ALBINO RATS

Sekhar Mandal, Shibani Basu, Tamoghna Maiti*, Ananya Mandal, Soumitra Mandal, Prasun Banerjee

ABSTRACT

Background and aims - Medicinal plants have been tested for their potential therapeutic effects. This study was designed to screen the in vivo anti-inflammatory activity of Astraeus hygrometricus in acute inflammation. Materials and methods – Anti-inflammatory activity was assessed by Carrageenan induced rat paw edema method. Albino rats of either sex were divided in 5 groups (N=6) [Group-I – saline control; Group- II, III and IV aqueous extracts of 200, 400, 600 mg/kg, P.O. respectively and Group- V Diclofenac1mg/kg, P.O. The paw volume was measured initially at 0, 1, 2 and 3hr after carrageenan injection using digital plethysmometer. Results - Astraeus hygrometricus showed significant anti-inflammatory activity at doses 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg compared to the control group (p <0.05). On superoxide free radicals extracts showed radical scavenging at all concentrations, which is lower than used standard ascorbic acid. The extract showed highest activity at concentration 250g/ml. Extracts showed highest scavenging activity on H2O2 at 200g/ml concentration. Conclusions – The aqueous extract of Astraeus hygrometricus has a good anti-inflammatory activity and considerable antioxidant potential.

Keywords: Astraeus hygrometricus, anti-inflammatory, carrageenan, antioxidant