Antioxidant, Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Matricaria Chamomilla L. Aqueous Extract

Abstract

Matricaria chamomilla L. is a famous medicinal plant distributed worldwide. It is widely used in traditional medicine to treat many diseases, including infections, neuropsychiatric disorders, as well as respiratory, gastrointestinal, and liver pathologies. The aim of this present work was to assess the in vitro antioxidant effects and the in vivo analgesic  and anti-inflammatory activities of aqueous extract of aerial part from Matricaria chamomilla L. The antioxidant potency of the extract was evaluated by metal chelating, CUPRAC, and β-carotene bleaching methods. The anti-inflammatory effect of the extract was evaluated using the Croton-oil-induced ear edema and xylene-induced ear edema in mice. The estimation of polyphenols and flavonoids showed that the MCAE contains a high amount of polyphenols and flavonoids: 108±1.22 mg Gallic acid equivalent and 75.72±1.06 mg Rutin equivalent/g of dried material, respectively. The results exhibited that MCAE had a good cupric reducing antioxidant, metal chelating and β-carotene bleaching activities. Oral administration of the extract produced good analgesic activities against acetic acid-induced abdominal constriction. The latter exerted significant dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity in the xylene-induced ear edema and croton-oil-induced ear edema assays. MCAE had no significant effect against edematous response caused by croton-oil (58.75^ns % inhibition ; P ≥0.05) compared to indomethcin as standard drug (60.32% inhibition). The present study confirms the use of Matricaria chamomilla L. in traditional medicine as an anti-inflammatory agent. Our findings highlight the medicinal use of Matricaria chamomilla L. as an additional source of natural analgesic and anti-inflammatory agents.