Subacute Toxicity, Subacute Anti-inflammatory and Anti-arthritic Activities of Combination of Hydroethanolic Extract of Terminalia macroptera and Ximenia americana In-vivo

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the anti-inflammatory effects of a combination of medicinal plants on two models of inflammation. Subacute toxicity was assessed by daily oral administration of 2000 mg/kg body weight (bw). Subacute inflammation and arthritis were induced using the carrageenan air pouch granuloma model and Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) respectively. After 28 days of administration, the combination at 2000 mg/kg proved to be non-toxic and induced a significant reduction (p<0.05) in transaminases and total cholesterol. The combinations C3 (150 mg/kg of T. macroptera + 250 mg/kg of X. americana), C2 ((250 mg/kg of T. macroptera + 150 mg/kg of X. americana) and C1 (250 mg/kg of T. macropteria + 250 mg/kg of X. americana) inhibited fresh granuloma formation by 40.37, 45.63 and 58.32% and dry granulomas by 47.77, 55.08 and 61.24% respectively. The combinations significantly (p<0.001) reduced air pouch fluid volume and massive leukocytes infiltration compared with the control group. With regard to the anti-arthritic effect, the combination C1 showed significant inhibition (p<0.05) of primary and secondary lesions compared with the control CFA. The increase in serum ALT, AST and uric acid concentrations observed in the CFA control group was significantly reduced (p<0.001) by the combination C1. An antioxidant effect was observed with the administration of the combination C1 and prednisone, which resulted in a significant increase (P<0.01) in GSH, SOD and catalase activity and a decrease in MDA concentration (P<0.001) compared with the CFA control group.The results suggest that the combination C1 has anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic effects and prevents oxidative stress in arthritic rats.