ABSTRACT
Background: Gmelina arborea Roxb (Verbenaceae), also known as “Gambhari”, is an important medicinal plant in the Ayurveda. There are no meticulous scientifi c reports on effect of the plant on infl ammation and pain. Objective: To study the anti-infl ammatory and anti-nociceptive properties of aqueous extracts (AE) and methanol extracts (ME) of G. arborea. Materials and Methods: The AE and ME of stembark of G. arborea was prepared by cold maceration and Soxhlet extraction technique respectively. Anti-infl ammatory activity was determined in Wistar albino rats in a model of acute plantar infl ammation induced by carrageenan. The anti-nociceptive activity was evaluated by using hot plate test and writhing test in Swiss albino mice. Signifi cant differences between the experimental groups were assessed by analysis of variance. Results: AE and ME at dose of 500 mg/kg showed maximum inhibition in carrageenan induced infl ammation up to 30.15 and 31.21% respectively. In hot plate test, the AE and ME showed the maximum response of 8.8 ± 0.97 (P < 0.01) and 8.2 ± 1.24 (P < 0.01) respectively at dose of 500 mg/kg when compared with control. AE showed maximum inhibition of writhing response (84.3%) as compared to ME (77.9%) in writhing test at a dose of 500 mg/kg. Conclusion: The fi ndings suggested that G. arborea possess signifi cant anti-infl ammatory and anti-nociceptive activities.