Medicinal plants have gained considerable interest in treatment of various medical conditions including inflammation. Rosaceae (the rose family) family of flowering plants having largest genus Prunus (plums, peaches, cherries and almonds) is one of the most economically important families.  In current study, anti-inflammatory activities of three fruit species Prunus persica, Prunus avium and Prunus domestica of family Rosaceae and genus Prunus were evaluated by both in-vitro and in-vivo assays. Non-invasive bioengineering probe Mexameter MPA-5 was used to measure cutaneous erythema level in-vivo, while for in-vitro evaluation lipoxygenase assay was used. These medicinal plant extracts were entrapped in oil-in-water emulsions and applied on 33 healthy human female volunteers (22 years) to assess cutaneous erythema level. Methanol extracts of P. persica, P. avium and P. domestica depicted significant (P ≤ 0.05) lipoxygenase activity in-vitro, that is, 58.73, 51.29 and 47.87%, respectively. Results of in-vivo assay revealed that active formulations loaded with botanical extracts produced statistically significant decrease in skin erythema over respective controls after 48 h P. persica, P. avium and P. domestica extracts can be used for isolation of new lead compounds with better anti-inflammatory activity. Results indicate that studied plants present potential for many natural products studies with high safety profile.

 

Key words: Anti-inflammatory, Prunus persica, Prunus avium, Prunus domestica, Lipoxygenase, Rosaceae.