Abstract

Leaves of Exacum bicolor are traditionally used as a remedy for the treatment of inflammatory disorders in the form of a tonic by the tribal community of Western Ghats of Karnataka. The present study was designed to evaluate the antiinflammatory activity of the methanol extract of Exacum bicolor leaf using the carrageenan-induced mice paw oedema model. The methanol extract which was shown earlier to possess in vitro antiinflammatory activity was further screened for in vivo antiinflammatory activity at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg. Diclofenac sodium 10 mg/kg was used as the reference standard. The plant extract showed significant dose-dependent reduction in paw edema when compared to the control at all the time intervals, which was also comparable to that produced by diclofenac. Histopathological analysis revealed clear and distinguished cellular damage for all the groups. The results of the current study showed that the methanol extract of the leaf of Exacum bicolor possessed significant antiinflammatory potential, which provided supporting evidence to the folklore use of the plant leaves as an antiinflammatory drug.