Free radical scavenging and anti-inflammatory properties of Lagerstroemia speciosa (L).

The in vitro antioxidant activity of the successive extracts (ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol and water) of the leaves of Lagerstroemia speciosa L. (Lythraceae) were studied by examining their superoxide, hydroxyl ion scavenging and by measuring lipid peroxidation. The ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts were found to possess greater antioxidant property than the methanol and water extracts. Anti-inflammatory activity of the ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts were examined using the carrageenan-induced acute inflammation and formalin-induced (chronic) paw edema models. In acute and chronic inflammation models, the ethyl acetate extract reduced the paw edema significantly in a dose-dependent manner. Whereas, ethanol extract did not show dose-dependent activity. This results suggests that the anti-inflammatory activity is possibly attributed to its free radical scavenging activity. It was found that ethyl acetate extract reduced the inflammation more significantly than the ethanol extract.