Antiinflammatory activity of Phyllanthus emblica, Plumbago zeylanica and Cyperus rotundus in acute models of inflammation.

Experimental studies conducted earlier have proved that Phyllanthus emblica (Pe), Plumbago zeylanica (Pz) and Cyperus rotundus (Cr), plants from the medohara group of Ayurveda possess antiatherosclerotic activity. As inflammation is also one of the pathophysiological factors, it was of interest to evaluate whether these drugs exhibit any antiinflammatory activity. Two models of acute inflammation, namely carrageenan induced rat paw edema and acetic acid induced peritonitis in mice were used. In the model of carrageenan induced paw edema Pe, Pz and Cr showed a trend to reduce the edema while the combination of Pe + Pz (PI: 20.64%) showed results comparable to aspirin (23.74%). Whereas in a model of acetic acid induced peritonitis, all the plant drugs i.e. Pe, Pz, Cr and a combination of Pe + Pz showed a significant decrease in the protein content of the peritoneal exudates compared with the disease control group (p < 0.05), however, only Pe + Pz exhibited activity comparable to aspirin.