Anti-inflammatory effects of Trigonella gharuensis: Comparative analysis in BALB/C mouse model.

Plants are extensively used in treating inflammatory disorders. The current study focused on evaluating anti-inflammatory potential of Trigonella gharuensis. The ethanolic and n-hexane extracts of T. gharuensis were given orally at the dose of 400mg/kg/day. Various in vivo inflammatory models such as carrageenan-, histamine-, dextran- and serotonin-induced paw edemas; xylene-induced ear edema, and castor oil-induced diarrhea models were used for validation of different mechanisms of autacoid inhibition. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses were performed to find out compounds responsible for anti-inflammatory properties. Both extracts significantly inhibited (P<0.05) carrageenan-, histamine-, dextran- and serotonin-induced paw edema in early and late acute inflammation phases. Suppression of xylene-induced ear edema supported suggested inhibition of autacoids. Attenuation of castor oil-induced diarrhea suggested prostaglandin inhibition by both extracts and supported inhibition of carrageenan-induced inflammation in the late phase. GC-MS analysis indicated constituents with considerable biological activities such as, saturated and unsaturated fatty acid esters, coumarins, terpenes, and aromatic and aliphatic compounds in the extracts. In conclusion, extracts of T. gharuensis possess significant anti-inflammatory activity which might be ascribed to the inhibition of autacoids.