Evaluation of anti-inflammatory potential of Chloranthus erectus (Buch.-Ham.) Verd. leaf extract in rats

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology 2009-11, Vol.126 (2), p.371-374
• Main Authors: Tag, Hui, Namsa, Nima D., Das, A.K., Kalita, P., Mandal, S.C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: animal models; Animals; Anti-inflammatory; anti-inflammatory activity; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - therapeutic use; Arunachal Pradesh; Biological and medical sciences; Carrageenan; Chloranthus; Chloranthus erectus; dosage; Edema - chemically induced; Edema - drug therapy; Female; Folklore medicine; General pharmacology; Gossypium; granuloma; Granuloma - chemically induced; Granuloma - drug therapy; herbal medicines; Histamine; Inflammation - chemically induced; Inflammation - drug therapy; Khampti tribe; Magnoliopsida; Male; Medical sciences; medicinal plants; medicinal properties; Models, Animal; oral administration; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Phytotherapy; plant extracts; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; Plant Leaves; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Serotonin; traditional medicine
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2009.08.015

Chloranthus erectus (Buch.-Ham.) Verdcourt (Chloranthaceae) is a shrub native to tropical and temperate zone of Eastern Himalaya of India and South-East Asia and have traditionally been used as a folklore medicine to treat localised swelling, joint pain, skin inflammation, fever and bodyache. In this study, an attempt has been made to demonstrate the anti-inflammatory activity of methanol extract obtained from Chloranthus erectus leaves (MECEL) in acute, sub-acute and chronic mouse models. Inflammation in the hind paw of Wistar albino rat was induced by carrageenan, histamine and serotonin, and tissue granuloma pouch was induced by cotton pellet method. Anti-inflammatory drug—phenylbutazone was used as standard drug for comparison. In acute carrageenan-induced rat hind paw edema, oral administration of MECEL at 200 mg/kg produced significant inhibition of edema by 38.34% ( p < 0.01) while the histamine- and serotonin-induced sub-acute model, the inhibition of paw edema reached 52.54% ( p < 0.001) and 25.5% ( p < 0.01), respectively. In a 7-day study, MECEL at 20 and 50 mg/kg produced significant suppression of cotton pellet-induced tissue granuloma formation in rats. This preliminary study revealed that the methanol extract of Chloranthus erectus exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity in the tested models, and may provide the scientific rationale for its popular folk medicine as anti-inflammatory agent.