Antiinflammatory and antioxidant activities of Desmodium gangeticum fractions in carrageenan-induced inflamed rats

Flavonoid and alkaloid fractions of Desmodium gangeticum were evaluated for antiinflammatory and antioxidant activities in carrageenan-induced inflamed rats with the aim of studying the promising fraction for inhibitory action on ferrous sulphate induced lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and total reduced glutathione in liver and spleen homogenates of inflamed rats. The results showed that the flavonoid fraction of D. gangeticum possesses potent antioxidant activity compared with the alkaloid fraction and also with respect to the standard drug indomethacin, in terms of augmentation of the liver and spleen SOD, CAT and GPX activities, concomitant with a reduction in lipid peroxidation (TBARS). In addition, the quantification of caffeic and chlorogenic acid in the flavonoid fraction has also been carried out using HPLC, which can be utilized as a marker compound in the standardization. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.