In Vitro and In Vivo Anti-Inflammatory Evaluation of the Whole Plant Extracts of Crotalaria Biflora (L)

Background: Several species of Crotalaria are cultivated and consumed across the world by the rural population for a variety of purposes that include medicine, food, green manure, fodder etc. Objective: The present study was aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of different extracts of the whole plant Crotalaria biflora by in vitro and in vivo methods. Materials and Methods: The powdered material of the whole plant Crotalaria biflora was extracted by soxhelation with different solvents such as petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol. Stabilization of human red blood cell (HRBC) membrane is the method employed for the in vitro evaluation. The extracts selected based on the results of in vitro evaluation was further subjected to in vivo evaluation by carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema method. In both in vitro and in vivo evaluations, Indomethacin was used as the standard control. Results: Among the four tested extracts in six different concentrations subjected to the in vitro evaluation, the ethyl acetate and methanol extracts (1000μg/ml) showed significant activity which was selected for the in vivo evaluation. Among the two doses of extracts (200mg.kg^-1 and 400mg.kg^-1) selected for the in vivo evaluation, the methanol extract (400mg.kg-1) showed significant activity followed by the ethyl acetate extract in the same dose. Conclusion: Further studies on the phytochemicals present in these extracts may give more significant results