Anti-inflammatory activity of <i>Jatropha gossypifolia </i>L. leaves in albino mice and Wistar rat

289-292Methanolic extract of Jatropha gossypifolia L. leaves showed systemic and significant anti-inflammatory activity in acute carrageenan-induced rat paw edema and chronic cotton pellet induced granuloma formation after oral treatment for 7 days in Wistar rats. Anti-inflammatory activity might be due to effects on several mediators and arachidonic granular tissue formation and leukocyte migration from vessels

Studies on aerial parts of Artemisia pallens wall for phenol, flavonoid and evaluation of antioxidant activity

Herbs have been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. According to recent investigations, they may help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, cardiovascular disease, and cancer due to antioxidant properties, which in turn can be attributed to the various phytoconstituents. With this intention, evaluation of antioxidant activity was performed. Methanol extract of aerial parts of Artemisia pallens Wall was screened for its antioxidant activity due to phenolic and flavonoid contents, by employing radical scavenging assays; 2,2 –diphenyl, 1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) and nitric oxide. Ascorbic acid was used as a standard. Quantitative determination of phenols and flavonoids were carried out using spectrophotometric method. Total flavonoid content was determined as quercetin equivalent and total phenolic content was determined as pyrocatechol equivalent using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. Plant produces more phenolic compounds than flavonoids. IC50 value of methanol extract for DPPH free radical scavenging activity was found to be 292.7 μg, whereas for nitric oxide it was 204.61 μg. The result obtained in the present study indicates that the aerial parts of this plant are a rich source of natural antioxidant

CNS Depressant Activity of Ethanol Extract of Sterculia guttata seeds in mice

Shade dried, powdered seeds of Sterculia guttata were extracted using a Soxhlet extractor with ethanol. Ethanol was removed under reduced pressure and dried to obtained crude extract. This extract was evaluated for its effect on behavioral changes, exploratory activity and barbiturate-sleeping time, using appropriate standard methods in mice. The extract exhibited dose-dependent CNS depressant activity