Antiinflammatory Activity of Some Medicinal Plants of the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

The antiinflammatory activity of 22 plants used in folk medicine, or indigenous in the United Arab Emirates, was tested using the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema method. Three plants (Citrullus colocynthis, Hammada elegans and Rhazya stricta) showed such activity. Activity-guided fractionation of Hammada elegans extract led to the isolation of a single active compound which was identified as piperidine hydrochloride. Citrullus colocynthis-m^aced antiinflammatory activity may by due to loss of body water.