Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Moroccan Erica arborea L.

Aim: The present study was carried out to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity, and acute toxicity of Moroccan Erica arborea leaves. Methods: Antioxidant capacity was assessed by diphenyle-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), phosphomolybdate (PPM) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) tests and anti-inflammatory capacity was evaluated by hind paw oedema model using carrageenan-induced inflammation in rat. The acute toxicity was evaluated using mice. Results: Acute toxicity of ethanolic extract of E.arborea showed no sign of toxicity at dose of 5. g/kg B.W. Our extracts have important antioxidant properties. The efficient concentration of the ethanolic extract (10.22. μg/ml) required for decreasing initial DPPH concentration by 50% was comparable to that of standard solution butyl-hydroxy-toluene (BHT) (8.87. μg/ml). The administration of ethanolic extract at doses of 200and 400. mg/kg B.W. was able to prevent plantar oedema and exhibited a significant inhibition against carrageenan-induced inflammation when compared to the control group (NaCl 0.9%) but comparable to those of diclofenac (reference drug). Conclusions: Our results show that the leaves of E. arborea may contain some bioactive compounds which are responsible for the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities observed here. Our finding may indicate the possibility of using the extracts of this plant to prevent the antioxidant and inflammatory processes. © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS.