Anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activity assessment of plants used as remedy in Turkish folk medicine.

Ethanolic and aqueous extracts from seven plant species used in Turkish traditional medicine were evaluated for in vivo anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities; Helleborus orientalis Lam. roots and herbs, Juglans regia L. leaves, Laurocerasus officinalis Roemer leaves, Nerium oleander L. dried and fresh flowers and leaves, Rhododendron ponticum L. leaves, Rubus hirtus Walds. et Kit aerial parts and Rubus sanctus Schreber aerial parts and roots. All the plant extracts, except the aqueous extract of Rubus hirtus, were shown to possess significant antinociceptive activity in varying degrees against p-benzoquinone-induced abdominal contractions in mice. However, only the ethanolic extracts of Helleborus orientalis roots, Juglans regia leaves, Laurocerasus officinalis leaves, Nerium oleander dried and fresh flowers, and Rhododendron ponticum leaves exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity against carrageenan-induced hind paw edema model in mice without inducing any gastric damage. Results of the present study confirmed the folkloric claim that all the selected materials to possess potent antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activity.