Acute and chronic antiinflammatory effects of plant flavonoids

The antiinflammatory activities of 30 flavonoids isolated from several plants of the Compositae family were investigated using carrageenan-induced mouse paw edema and cotton pellet-induced rat granuloma. Compounds were administered with a unique dose of 75 mg/kg i.p. in the acute test with carrageenan and 25 mg/kg/day in the chronic granuloma test. Flavonoids inhibit the development of the induced granuloma, mostly when a catechol or guaiacol-like B ring is contained in the compound structure, jaceosidin being the most active flavonoid screened. Flavonoids significantly inhibited the maximum edema response in the acute test. We conclude that several of the isolated flavonoids tested here showed antiinflammatory effects, depending on the experimental model used. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.