PHYTOTHERAPEUTICAL EVALUATION OF CHRYSANTHEMUM FLOWERS FOR ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTI-OXIDANT ACTIVITY

Inflammatory diseases are major cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Inflammation is a complex mechanism employed by the body to promote healing and restoration to normal function in the event of injury. At the site of inflammation, overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) predominates subsequent oxidative stress and potentially cause damage to biomolecules such as DNA, lipids and proteins. Now a days, search for natural entities with anti-inflammatory activity with lesser side effects is vital. Therefore, efforts are being continuously made to identify such agents and to validate their scientific authenticity. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of chrysanthemum morifolium methanolic flower extract. Chrysanthemum morifolium is an important medicinal plant with many functions.Their effects were evaluated by carrageenan-induced paw edema and egg white induced paw edema method in experimental rats for 4 h. The oral administration of MECM (200 & 400 mg/kg) exerted potent antiinflammatory activity by carrageenan reducing paw edema (35 & 46.2%) and by egg white induced paw edema method (50.94 & 53%) respectively and it was comparable with the standard drug, Diclofenac sodium (10 mg/kg, 62% and 67%) at the end 4 hours.. In vitro antioxidant studies were studied by two methods i.e., hydrogen peroxide scavenging assay and reducing power assay. The IC50 values of the test extract were compared to the standard anti oxidant Ascorbic acid. Significant results were obtained (p<0.01). The obtained results therefore suggest the MECM is considered to be a valuable source of remedy for inflammation