ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES OF UNEXPLORED PLANTS – CUSCUTA REFLEXA AND COCCULUS HIRSUTUS – AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Objective: The study aimed to document the rarely explored plants, namely, Cuscuta reflexa (CRA) and Cocculus hirsutus (CHP) used by the ethnic people of a specific region. The anti-inflammatory (AI) property of kwath of CRA (KCRA), kwath of CHP (KCHP), and their blend (kwath blend [KB]) was also assessed. Methods: The KCRA and KCHP were prepared following standard Ayurvedic procedures. The AI property was determined by carrageenan-induced paw edema at doses; 250, 125, and 62.5 mg/kg. The KB (500 mg/kg) was prepared using equal parts of KCRA and KCHP in view of the potential AI property as compared to the individual plants. Ibuprofen (100 mg/kg) was used as the standard AI drug standard drug (SD). Results: The carrageenan-induced paw inflammation was highest and doubled at 3 h. The oral administration of SD (100 mg/kg) produced a high reduction of edema (78.47%) at 3 h. Both KCRA and KCHP had reduced edema and were equally potent (EC50; 139.8 and 147.3 mg/kg, respectively) at the early phase. However, the efficacy of KCRA was greater than KCHP at the second phase of inflammation (EC50=313.6 and 2760 mg/kg, respectively). KCRA was efficacious and potent as an AI agent. Unlike SD, KB had effectively inhibited paw edema from the 6th h onward. The AI activity of KB was superior compared to individual plant groups. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that the traditional formulation – kwath of rarely explored plants, namely, CRA, CHP, and KB has AI property and can be explored to develop them as AI agents.