摘要：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.
