Anti-inflammatory activity and acute toxicity of Anredera leptostachys.

Anredera leptostachys (Basellaceae) is a tropical plant, frequently found in the Dominica Republic. The decoction of the tubercles from this species are used in popular medicine, but there is no information on the biological activities of this species nor its toxicity. In the present work, the anti-inflammatory activity and the toxicity of an extract of tubercles from Anredera leptostachys have been studied. The antiinflammatory activity was investigated using two acute inflammation models: carrageenan induced-edema of the rat paw and tetradecanoylphorbol acetate (TPA) induced edema on the mouse ear. Indomethacin was used as standard drug. Myeloperoxidase activity (MPO) was also assessed as an indicator of leukocyte migration in the inflamed mouse ear. The extract given orally at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg reduced the carrageenan induced edema in a dose-dependent manner: 27, 24, 25 and 10%; 44, 51, 61 and 57% at 2, 3, 4 and 5 h respectively. The extract applied topically, at doses of 3 and 5 mg/ear in the TPA test, produced an edema reduction of 14 and 20% respectively. The levels of myeloperoxidase enzyme were reduced in the inflammed tissue by 31 and 40% respectively. Acute toxicity also was investigated and the results indicated a low toxicity (LD(50):1043.38 ± 137.14 mg/kg; 61.07 ± 7.93 g plant/kg).