Anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of aqueous extracts of Vitex agnus cactus L. and Cymbopogon nardus L. against carrageenan-induced inflammation in rats

Vitex agnus cactus and Cymbopogon nardus are widely used in traditional and conventional medicine as natural anti-inflammatory agents. Within this framework, the current study was undertaken to examine in vivo the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of aqueous extracts of the leaves and seeds of V. agnus cactus and C. nardus. In this relation, aqueous extracts were prepared from the leaves and fruits of V. agnus cactus and the leaves of C. nardus. The inflammatory process was induced using the carrageenan method. The analysis of the obtained results revealed that the aqueous extract of leaves of V. agnus cactus exhibited the highest antioxidant content (80.22 ± 11.7 mg GAE/g for TPC, 72.14 ± 9 mg RE/g for TFC, 680 ± 19.6 mg QE/g for flavones and flavonols, 355.33 ± 23.36 mg AAE/g for TAC, 0.33 ± 0.04 mg/mL for IC50-DPPH, and 0.97 ± 0.04 mg/mL for EC50-FRAP) and anti-inflammatory effect with dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that these plants have the potential to alleviate pain and inflammation when used for therapeutic purposes.