Anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive and antioxidant activities of Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile

Results obtained demonstrate that both ME or BE have a significant effect at the highest dose on the number of abdominal writhes induced by acetic acid, with a 38 and 54% inhibition respectively, but no significant difference was observed for extracts at the lowest dose and for the pure compounds compared with control animals. The same extracts exhibit a significant reduction on the rat paw edema. The inhibition produced by ME is about the same (28 ± 3% lowest dose, 32 ± 3% highest dose) after administration. A more evident effect is obtained by BE (41 ± 3% and 68 ± 6% respectively) and single saponins B1 and B2 (62 ± 5% and 59 ± 6% respectively) after oral administration. The antioxidant activity obtained seems to be in good accordance with the pharmacological results. The histological sections of rat paw confirm the antiflogistic activity of the plant extracts.