EVALUATION OF ANTIINFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF MOMORDICA CYMBALARIA AGAINST CARRAGEENAN INDUCED AIR POUCH MODEL IN WISTAR RATS

Inflammation is a multifaceted biological response shown by living tissues to the injury. It is an inbuilt body defense mechanism evoked by various stimuli such as disease causing organisms, ecological factors, ischemia, immunological reactions, biological factors and free radicals. It eliminates or limits the spread of pathogens. Momordica cymbalaria (Cucurbitaceae) had been used widely for its reported biological activities in traditional system of medicine. The present work is an attempt to investigate anti-inflammatory activity of various fractions of Momordica cymbalaria fruit on Carrageenan induced air pouch model in wistar rats. Butanol fraction of Momordica cymbalaria (BFM) showed dose dependent reduction in exudate volume. The effects of BFM were significant at every test dose as compared to standard. The results of the study recommend that the crude ethanolic extract of Momordica cymbalaria (CEE), chloroform fraction of Momordica cymbalaria (CFM) and BFM in dissimilar doses significantly restrained carrageenan provoked exudate volume, monocyte and neutrophil count in rats and exhibited significant anti-inflammatory action. Further detailed molecular investigation is necessary to delineate the underlying protective mechanism of Momordica cymbalaria against inflammation. Key words: Inflammation, Carrageenan, Airpouch, Monocytes, Neutrophils