Preliminary Evaluation of the Anti–Inflammatory Activity of the Leaves of Ficus umbellata (VAHL) in Cotton Pellet Induced Granuloma Inflammation Model

Abstract

Inflammation is a local response of living tissues to injury. Ficus umbellata, an evergreen plant popularly known as house plant has traditional application in the management of menopause physiological disorders, dyspepsia, diarrhoea and cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of the leaves of Ficus umbellata using cotton pellet induced granuloma model. The methanol, aqueous, n-butanol, ethylacetate and n-hexane extracts of the leaves were administered at the dose of 400 mg/kg body weight respectively after surgical insertion of cotton pellets into groin region of rats. When compared to the negative control, the extracts caused significant (P < 0.05) increase in anti-inflammatory activity. The aqueous, n-butanol, n-hexane, ethylacetate,and methanol extracts caused 75%, 64%, 55%, 63%, and 62% reduction in inflammation compared to the negative control. This study provided experimental evidence that extracts of F. umbellata present a strong anti-inflammatory response in cotton pellet induced granuloma in albino rats