Abstract

The aim of our study is to evaluate comparative assessment of well documented medicinal plants. Ethanolic extract of Pongamia pinnata, Salvadora persica, Asparagus racemosus and methanolic extract of Punica granatum were prepared by continuous hot extraction method and their preliminary phytochemical screening was performed. Animals were separated into different groups and each group contains six animals. The ethanolic and methanolic extracts were administered in a dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg. Arthritis was induced by FCA in Wistar albino rats and various parameters related to arthritis i.e. paw volume, arthritic score, body weight, joint diameter were recorded. A significant increase in paw volume, arthritic score, joint diameter and decrease in body weight was observed in arthritic control rats compared to normal control. Methanolic extract of Punica granatum significantly decreased the paw volume, arthritic score, and joint diameter and increased the body weight when compared to arthritic control. All the selected medicinal plants showed significant activity in arthritic rats however, methanolic extract of Punica granatum showed highly significant activity as compared to other plants. Methanolic extract showed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, terpanoids, glycosides, and phenolic compounds. The anti-arthritic activity of plant may be due to presence of aforementioned phytocompoundse.