A chemo-pharmacological study of Hypericum perforatum L

ABSTRACT

Arthritis was produced in adult albino rats weighing 120+-10g through intramuscular injections of 0.5ml of 2 percent w/w formalin beneath the plantar aponeurosis on the first and third day. The anterioposterior diameter of the ankle was recorded and statistically analyzed. It was evident that relatively low doses, 0.25ml/100g body weight, of tincture of Hypericum perforatum produced a significant 48 percent anti-inflammatory effect, whereas higher doses, 0.5ml/100g body weight, of the drug showed 32 percent activity under identical conditions. Parallel studies with 1mg/100g body weight hydrocortisone administration gave similar anti-inflammatory effects. Local application of an alcoholic extract of the drug in very small doses also produced significant skin softness and flexiblility of muscle