Curative and protective properties of crude gel of <i>Aloe vera</i> from sub-Himalayan West Bengal in chronic and acute inflammatory rat models

121-127Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. (Xanthorrhoeaceae) has been used traditionally as a wound healer and an anti-inflammatory medication. The Aloe gel has natural combination of different bio-active compounds and is commonly consumed or applied in crude condition. We have used unprocessed Aloe gel homogenate in acute and chronic inflammatory Wistar albino male rat models to investigate its properties in a systematic way. Chronic inflammatory arthritic model was established by injecting 0.1 ml Freund’s Complete Adjuvant (FCA) in the hind paw of rat. Radiograph, histology, hematological and biochemical properties of the serum were used to determine the ameliorative role of crude Aloe gel homogenate in the rat experimental groups in vivo. Acute inflammatory rat model was established using sub-cutaneous cotton pellet induction. The weight of dried cotton pellets were determined to estimate the extent of granuloma formation. A. vera crude gel inhibited paw swelling up to 65.59 % in experimental groups of arthritic rats and decreased the granuloma formation up to 25 % in cotton pellet induced inflammatory rats. It is well evidenced from the experiments that unprocessed A. vera crude gel possesses a good anti-inflammatory property for both chronic and acute types when fed at a dose of 0.40 gm/kg body weight