In vivo anti-inflammatory and in vitro antioxidant activities of Moroccan medicinal plants.

Five ethanol extracts of wild plants from the Casablanca region (Morocco) used in local traditional medicine for the treatment of inflammatory diseases were evaluated for their in vivo topical anti-inflammatory activity (inhibition of carrageenan-induced ear edema in mice) and in vitro antioxidant and antiradical properties (inhibition of linoleic acid oxidation, DPPH radical scavenging). All the extracts showed an anti-inflammatory effect: 300 microg/cm2 provoked edema reductions ranging from 22 to 28%. All the extracts also exerted radical scavenging and/or antioxidant properties, the most active plant being Mentha pulegium L. (Lamiaceae), which contained the highest amount of phenolics (339 mg/g), and flavonoids (16.7 mg/g).