Anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of stem bark extracts of Eugenia jambolana

The world is facing an explosive increase in the incidence of many systemic diseases and hence cost effective complementary therapies are needed. Medicinal plants have been the subject of intense research due to their potential as sources of commercial drugs or as lead compounds in drug development. The drugs which are used presently for the management of pain and infl ammatory conditions are either narcotics or non narcotics (NSAIDS), and have known toxic and lethal effects. On the contrary, herbal medicines with good absorption, less toxicity, and easy availability have been used since ancient times. It is therefore,essential that efforts be made to introduce new medicinal plants, to develop cheaper and effective drugs. Eugenia jambolana Lam. (Myrtaceae) has been claimed to reduce different ailments in the folk medicine. We have investigated the anti-infl ammatory and analgesic activities of petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts of E. jambolana stem bark.