Evaluation of antiinflammatory activity of the total flavonoids of Laggera pterodonta on acute and chronic inflammation models.

The antiinflammatory effect of the total flavonoids of Laggera pterodonta (TFLP) was evaluated with various in vivo models of both acute and chronic inflammation. In the acute inflammation tests, TFLP significantly inhibited xylene-induced mouse ear oedema, carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema and acetic acid-induced mouse vascular permeability. In the carrageenan-induced rat pleurisy model, TFLP efficiently suppressed inflammatory exudate and leukocyte migration, reduced the serum levels of lysozyme (LZM) and malondialdehyde (MDA), increased the activity of serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), and also decreased the contents of total protein, nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in the pleural exudates. No marked effect of TFLP on the activity of serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) was observed. In the chronic inflammation experiment, TFLP inhibited cotton pellet-induced rat granuloma. The antiinflammatory mechanisms of TFLP are probably associated with the inhibition of prostaglandin formation, influence on the antioxidant systems and the suppression of LZM release. The acute toxicity study revealed that TFLP was nontoxic in mice up to an oral dose of 7.5 g/kg body weight.