Antipleuritic and Vascular Permeability Inhibition of the Ethyl Acetate-Petroleum Ether Stem Bark Extract of Maerua angolensis DC (Capparaceae) in Murine

Maerua angolensis has been used traditionally in the management of pain, arthritis, and rheumatism in Ghana and Nigeria butno scientific evidence is currently available to give credence to its folkloric use. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate theanti-inflammatory effects of a stem bark extract of Maerua angolensis DC (MAE) in acute inflammatory models. The effects ofMAE (30-300 mg kg−1) on neutrophil infiltration, exudate volume, and endogenous antioxidant enzymes in lung tissues and lungmorphology were evaluated with the carrageenan induced pleurisy model in Sprague Dawley rats. The effects of MAE (30-300 mgkg−1) on vascular permeability were also evaluated in the acetic acid induced vascular permeability in ICR mice. MAE significantlyreduced neutrophil infiltration, exudate volume, and lung tissue damage in carrageenan induced pleurisy. MAE increased theactivities of antioxidant enzymes glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase in lung tissues. The extract was also able to reducemyeloperoxidase activity and lipid peroxidation in lung tissues in carrageenan induced rat pleurisy. Vascular permeability was alsoattenuated by the extract with marked reduction of Evans blue dye leakage in acetic acid induced permeability assay. The resultsindicated that Maerua angolensis is effective in ameliorating inflammation induced by carrageenan and acetic acid. It also has thepotential of increasing the activity of endogenous antioxidant enzymes.