Evaluation of the anti-inflammatory activity of extract of Abrus precatorious

The anti-inflammatory activity of the extract of Abrus precatorius was investigated. Inflammatory response was induced by topical application of croton oil dissolved in suitable vehicle on the rat ear. After 6 hrs, cutting out the ear quantitated the response. The cut ear is weighed and the increase in weight relative to controls evaluated. Extract of A. precatorius when co applied with croton oil to the rat ear produced a reduction in the inflammatory response produced when croton oil alone was applied to the rat ear. The extract produced 67.10 + 2% reduction of the inflammatory response produced by croton oil alone, this was however lower than the 71.1 + 2% reduction of the inflammatory response produced by acetyl salicylic acid. This finding suggests that extract of A. precatorius exhibits anti-inflammatory activity and may explain the usefulness of the leaves of this plant in the treatment of inflammatory disease conditions by traditional healers.