Anti-inflammatory, anti-lipid peroxidative, antioxidant and membrane stabilizing activities of hydroalcoholic extract of Terminalia chebula fruits.

CONTEXT: Arthritis is inflammation of one or more joints. Terminalia chebula Retz. (Combretaceae) fruit is mentioned in Ayurveda as useful in treating arthritic disorders.

OBJECTIVE: This work was undertaken to evaluate the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-lipid peroxidative and membrane-stabilizing effects of hydroalcoholic extract of Terminalia chebula fruits and also to establish a possible association between them.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In vivo anti-inflammatory activity of T. chebula fruit extract at different doses ranged from 50 to 500 mg/kg, p.o. was evaluated against carrageenin-induced inflammation in rats. Human erythrocyte hemolytic assay was used for in vitro anti-inflammatory activity testing with 50 to 500 µg/ml fruit extract. Antioxidant potential of test fruit extract (10 to 100 µg/ml) was evaluated using TBARS and DPPH methods. The fruit extract was standardized for total phenolic content using Folin-Ciocalteu method.

RESULTS: The standardized extract at 250 mg/kg, p.o. dose caused 69.96% reduction in carrageenin-induced rat paw edema and demonstrated 96.72% protective effect on human RBC membrane stability. Besides, T. chebula fruit extract significantly reduced the in vivo formation of TBARS in carrageenin-induced rat liver with IC50 94.96 mg/kg, p.o. and also in vitro radical scavenging activities in DPPH assay method with IC50 42.14 µg/ml. The standardized extract contains phenolics 118.5 mg gallic acid equivalent/g of extract.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: These promising findings support the traditional use of T. chebula fruits in the treatment of arthritic disorders and suggest that radical quenching may be one of the mechanisms for its anti-inflammatory activity.