Anti-inflammatory activity of Rumex vesicarius L. leaves

Abstract

The Rumex vesicarius ethanolic extract (RVEE) of leaves was studied for anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan induced paw edema and cotton pellet induced granuloma in rats. Wistar rats were orally administered RVEE (200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg) and the standard drug diclofenac sodium (40 mg/kg) 60 min prior to a subcutaneous injection of carrageenan (0.1 ml of 1% w/v) into their right hind paws to produce edema. The paw volumes were measured at various time intervals to assess the effect of drug treatment. In the granuloma model, 1 sterile cotton pellet were implanted in the axilla region of each rat. RVEE (200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg) and the standard drug diclofenac sodium (40 mg/kg) were administered orally for 8 days to the pellet implanted rats. The granuloma tissue formation was calculated from the dissected pellets. A significant reduction in paw edema and cotton pellet granuloma was observed with RVEE treatment when compared with the carrageenan treated and cotton pellet implanted animals respectively. It may be concluded that RVEE possesses anti-inflammatory activity in a dose dependent manner which may be due to an underlying antioxidant activity and/ or lysosomal membrane stabilization by virtue of its poly phenolic constituents.