RESUMO
Salsola plants are widely used in folk medicine. In an attempt to search for bioactive natural products exerting antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities, we have evaluated the effects of the ethanol and chloroform extract of Salsola inermis on total reducing activity, nitric oxide [NO] and superoxide [SO] radicals in vitro. The ethanol extract and chloroform partition were used in the in vivo studies. Antioxidant activity of the plant ethanol extract and chloroform partition was determined spectrophotometrically in vitro. Anti-inflammatory activity was determined by measuring the paw volume of rat using Plethysmometer [UGO-Basile, Italy- model no. 7410]. Analgesic effect was studied in mice using hot-plate apparatus. The obtained data indicated that the ethanol extract is a potent inhibitor for NO and SO radicals. The anti-inflammatory activity of chloroform fraction proved to be more potent than the 70% ethanol extract against carrageenan-induced rat paw edema while the ethanol extract showed a more potent an analgesic effect. Salsola plant possesses antioxidant activities as shown from in vitro studies. It also exhibits an anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect as revealed from the in vivo studies