Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects of Sterculia tragacantha fractions in mice

Six fractions obtained from the methanol leaf extract of Sterculia tragacantha were screened for anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities. Treatment of mice with 10 and 90 mg/kg fractions 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 significantly inhibited carrageenan induced paw edema in mice. The higher doses (90 mg/kg) showed superior anti-inflammatory activity compared to 10 mg/kg. The percentage edema inhibitions of 90 mg/kg fractions 5, 6 and 7 at 4 h were 75, 80 and 75%, respectively. Daily administration of fractions 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 significantly suppressed formaldehyde induced paw edema by day three and five post edema induction. Fractions 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 inhibited granuloma formation significantly. The anti-inflammatory effects of fractions 5, 6 and 7 on granuloma formation were better than that of dexamethasone. The fractions showed concentration dependent 1,1-diphenyl-2-hydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity. At 400 μg/ml, the anti-oxidant activity of fraction 5 (75.6%) and 6 (73.6%) were comparable to that of ascorbic acid (79.1%). In conclusion, this study has shown that the fractions of S. tragacantha possessed anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities, thus, providing further proof that the leaves of S. tragacantha contains an active compound with potent anti-inflammatory activity.Keywords: Fractions, edema, granuloma, anti-oxidant, S. tragacanthaAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(6), pp. 592-59