Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Smilax wightii fruit, Endemic A.DC. (Smilacaceaea)-An Endangered Medicinal Plant from the Nilgiris

V. Asha Devi¹*, K.A. Arumugasamy¹, A. Shalimol¹, R. Nantha Kumar¹, M.R.Udhayasankar¹ and R. Kokilavani^2
1PG and Research Department of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore, India-641029
²PG and Research Department of Biochemistry, Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore, India-641029

Abstract
Smilax wightii A.DC. is an endangered medicinal plant available in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve an it is said to be used in curing several diseases like  dysentery, amoebiasis, veneraldiseases, urinary complaints, fever, spermatorrhoea, antifertility, anaemia, rheumatic-arthritis, veterinaryamoebiasis and gastric complaints which are found in the Indian and Chinese system of medicine. In the present study, the ethanol extract of S. wightii exhibited the significant anti-inflammatory activity at the dose of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg, body weight. The per cent inhibition of paw oedema of s. wightii is 59.77 and 77.58 at various doses .The result confirmed that S.wightii has potent anti-inflammatory activity.
Keywords: Smilax wightii, ethanolic extract, anti-inflammatory activity.