Anti-inflammatory, Analgesic and Antioxidant Activities of the Hydroalcoholic Extract from Celery (Apium graveolens) Leaves

Abstract

Celery (Apium graveolensL.) belongs to the Apiaceae family. It is a genus of an annual or biannual herb.A. graveolensis used in Algeria as a medicinal plant for the treatment of many diseases. This study was carried out to assess and confirm the in vivo anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect of hydroalcoholic extract fromA. graveolensleaves. Wistar albino rats of both sexes, with different ages 2–3 months weighing between 160 and 250 g and Swiss albinosmice weighing 22–27 g were used for this study. The antiinflammatory activity was estimated by measuring the oedema induced by Carrageenan; the analgesic activity was performed by the acetic acid–induced writhing test and formalin-induced paw licking. The administration of hydroalcoholic extract at doses of 200, 300 and 500 mg/kg body weight significantly reduced the increase of the paw volume with an inhibition percentage of 80.17%, 86.50% and 89.66%, respectively; all doses showed a strong significant effect (p< 0.001). These results were similar to those obtained with piroxicam 78.93% and indometacine 76.13%. Although the same doses showed a high significant effect (p< 0.01) compared to the control group, the extract at a dose of 500 mg/kg registered higher levels of analgesic activity (17 ± 2.36) writhing (75.53% inhibition) than the standard drug paracetamol (30.5 ± 3.61) writhing; in the two tests, acetic acid induced writhing and formalin induced paw licking. The study of hydroalcoholic extract in vitro showed a high antioxidant capacity by inhibition of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (IC50= 1.29 mg/ml). In conclusion,A. graveolensis an interesting plant and the hydroalcoholic leaves extracts could be used scientifically in the treatment of acute inflammation and the peripheral analgesic activity.