Luffa echinata Roxb. belongs to family Cucurbitaceae considered to be useful in variety of ailments. The present study was designed to investigate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect of methanolic extract of L. echinata fruits. In order to find out the anti-inflammatory activity of the extract carrageenan induced paw edema in carrageenan induced edema method was carried out. The analgesic activity was evaluated by acetic acid induced writhing, Eddy’s hot plate and tail flick methods. The extract (20 mg/kg body weight) showed significant inhibition (64-157% inhibition, p<0.01) of paw edema and the effect was comparable to standard drug Nimesulide (20 mg/kg body weight) (22-85% inhibition, p<0.01). Further, The extract showed significant increase in reaction time in eddy’s hot plate and tail flick method which indicate the extract may act centrally, moreover in acetic acid induced writhing method, the extract showed significant decrease in number of writhes which suggest peripheral action of the extracts. The Analgesic activity was comparable to the standard drugs Tramadol (25 mg/kg, body weight) and Aspirin (50 mg/kg, body weight). These results suggested that L. echinata have potential anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity.
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