Abstract

An investigation has been carried out to determine whether the aqueous extract of Ficus elastica is active as an anti-inflammatory agent in the carrageenin-induced oedema and adjuvant-induced arthritis in the rat. This investigation was prompted by the fact that practitioners of herbal medicine in West Africa use the plant for the treatment of muscle and joint pain. The results of the investigation clearly indicated that orally administered Ficus elastica extract markedly inhibited the experimentally induced inflammation in the two test models. This effect of Ficus elastica was very similar to that of indomethacin. Thus in the carrageenin-induced oedema Ficus elastica (2-10 mg/kg) and indomethacin (1-5 mg/kg) produced inhibition of the magnitude of 5.41-68.92% and 27.03-69.26%, respectively. Similarly, both the extract of Ficus elastica and indomethacin inhibited the primary as well as the secondary lesions of adjuvant arthritis in the rat. The extract used in this study was coloured buff and there is considerable evidence that flavonoids of plant origin possess anti-inflammatory activity. Therefore it may be concluded that the anti-inflammatory activity of the extract of Ficus elastica was probably due to the presence of a pigment of the flavonoid class. Further studies are in progress to elucidate the chemical characteristics of this active principle.