Acalypha indica is a herb, commonly found in India and Sri Lanka, belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae, which is very widely used by the kani tribes of south India. It is said to be effective for the treatment of many diseases including liver ailments as well as inflammatory conditions ; but very few scientific studies have been carried out on this plant, especially on its leaves. Hence this study was undertaken to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of aqueous (AIA) and hydroalcoholic (AIE) extracts of the leaves of Acalypha indica (AI) , in experimental animals i.e. Wistar albino rats following oral administration. Acute toxicity studies revealed that both the extracts were safe up to a dose of 2000mg / kg body weight. Also the extracts significantly reduced edema induced by carrageenan within one to four hours post dosing at all the dose levels studied. In the chronic inflammatory model using cotton pellet also there was a significant reduction in the weight of cotton pellet induced granuloma indicating anti inflammatory effect. In addition both extracts exhibited significant antioxidant activity in DPPH, nitric oxide and hydroxyl radical induced in vitro assay methods. Thus it could be concluded that Acalypha indica leaf extracts possess significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities in rats
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