ANTI INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF BAUHINIA TOMENTOSA (STEM BARK AND ROOTS) AND BAUHINIA VAHLII ROOTS

The Ayurvedic system of medicine suggests large number of plants has been used as anti-inflammatory agents since Vedic era. The genus Bauhinia (Caesealpinaceae) has numerous traditional uses. From the genus selected two plants were subjected for the In vitro anti inflammatory activity against 5-lipoxygenase enzyme. The activity exhibited by ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of B. tomentosa (stem bark and roots) and B. vahlii (roots) was one of a concentration dependant effect such that increasing concentrations of extract produced a greater inhibition of the 5-LOX enzyme. Of the extracts the most promising activity was observed for the ethyl acetate extract of B. tomentosa roots (yielding complete inhibition at 100 μg/ml and an IC50 value of 18.47 ± 0.67 μg/ml). the results obtained was compared with the 5-LOX inhibitor,