Erythrina subumbrans, an Asian plant, has been traditionally used to treat fever and edema. Studies about E. subumbrans are very limited; however, alkaloids, pterocarpans, flavanones, and triterpenes have been reported to be present in the barks, twigs, and roots. These metabolites have been explored for their antidiabetic and antimicrobial activity. The leaves have been studied on carrageenan-induced Wistar rats. Our work explored the effects of E. subumbrans leaves extract (ESE) on the membrane stability of human red blood cells (HRBC) and in egg white-induced edema of 25 male Wistar rats. The rats were randomly assigned to five groups: the normal control group (treated with sodium-carboxymethylcellulose 0.5%); the positive control group (treated with sodium diclofenac 4.5 mg /kg BW); and three test groups (treated with ESE 100 mg/kg body weight, 200 mg/kg body weight, and 400 mg/ kg body weight). All groups were edema-induced using egg white 1%, and the volume of edema was measured every 30 minutes until 180 minutes. The phytochemical screening of ESE indicated the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, and tannins. The in vitro study confirmed that ESE inhibits hemolysis in HRBC with an IC50 of 75.61 ± 0.366 μg/ ml, while the IC50 of sodium diclofenac is 49.97 ± 0.001 μg/ml. The in vivo study revealed that all doses of ESE and sodium diclofenac significantly reduced edema in rats’ paws at 180 minutes. These findings suggested that ESE might be further developed as an anti-inflammatory drug candidate.
Key words: anti-inflammatory, Erythrina subumbrans, human red blood cells methods, proinflammatory cytokines
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