Abstract

The present study was undertaken to assess the anti-inflammatory potential of the aqueous and methanolic extracts of Hibiscus asper Hook. f. leaves (Malvaceae)  against carrageenan induced acute inflammation and complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritis in Wistar albino rats. In the carrageenan-induced acute inflammation, the methanolic extract of H. asper exhibited significant anti-inflammatory effect at the dose 200 and 400 mg/kg. Maximum inhibition (57.29%) was noted at the dose of 200 mg/kg after 2 h of drug treatment while with the aqueous extract, the maximum effect (46.36%) was obtained after 2 h at the same dose. Further, methanolic extract of H. asper leaves showed a significant dose-dependent protective effect against CFA-induced arthritis. At the dose of 400 mg/kg, the percentage of inflammation was 29.33 versus 45.56% for the control group on day 20 and 17.43 versus 60.80%, respectively to the treated (400 mg/kg) and control group at the end of the treatment period. These observations suggest possible therapeutic potential of the methanolic extract of H. asper leaves in inflammatory disorders like rheumatoid arthritis.

Key words: Anti-inflammatory, arthritis, Hibiscus asper; extracts, complete Freund’s adjuvant, rats.