Pharmaceutical Research & Development   (Track)

THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECT OF COLOCYNTHIS VULGARIS

Menad Ahmed, Ameddah Souad, Dendouhi Hocine, Benayache Fadila and Benayache Samir

Faculté des Sciences de la Nature et de la vie, Université Frères Mentouri Constantine, Algérie, Constantine, Algeria

Abstract

The genus Colocynthis grows naturally in Algerian Sahara. The extract of Colocynthis vulgaris (Curcubitaceae) have been used as a folk medicine for analgesia and anti-inflammatory effect. The anti-inflammatory process can initiated by infectious compounds, trauma or auto-ummine activities and it is enhanced by activation of the complement cascades. The vascular phenomena such as vasopermeability with oedema formation are important compounds of the acute inflammatory reaction; in order to provide the scientific bases for the traditional use of Colocynthis vulgaris we evaluated the anti-inflammatory activity of the nbutanolic extract. Our investigation revealed that the oral administration (300 mk/Kg b.w) of n-butanolic extract of Colocynthis vulgaris to male wistar rats exhibited a significant inhibition of pawoedema induced by 3 mg/Kg of carrageenin. The number of PMNS in the peripheral blood was increased, and the Colocynthis vulgaris reduced significantly in a dose dependent manner the neutrophile chemotaxic to FMLP. In addition, the Colocynthis vulgaris exerted a great inhibitory effect of the generation of O°-2. These results suggested that the n-butanolic extract contained a higher concentration of anti-inflammatory compounds.

Keywords: Colocynthis vulgaris, anti-inflammatory effects, rats.