Trichilia monadelpha
(Thonn) JJ De Wilde (Meliaceae) bark extract is used in African traditional medicine for the
management of various disease conditions including inflammatory disorders such as arthritis. The present study was undertaken to
evaluate the anti-inflammatory properties of aqueous (TWE), alcoholic (TAE) and petroleum ether extract (TPEE) of
T. monadelpha
using the 7-day old chick-carrageenan footpad oedema (acute inflammation) and the adjuvant-induced arthritis model in rats (chronic
inflammation). TWE and TPEE significantly inhibited the chick-carrageenan footpad oedema with maximal inhibitions of 57.79±3.92
and 63.83±12 respectively, but TAE did not. The reference anti-inflammatory drugs (diclofenac and dexamethasone) inhibited the
chick-carrageenan-induced footpad oedema, with maximal inhibitions of 64.92±2.03 and 71.85±15.34 respectively. Furthermore, all
the extracts and the reference anti-inflammatory agents (diclofenac, dexamethasone, methotrexate) inhibited the inflammatory oedema
associated with adjuvant arthritis with maximal inhibitions of 64.41±5.56, 57.04±8.57, 62.18±2.56%, for TWE, TAE and TPEE
respectively and 80.28±5.79, 85.75±2.96, 74.68±3.03% for diclofenac, dexamethasone and methotrexate respectively. Phytochemical
screening of the plant bark confirmed the presence of a large array of plant constituents such as alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids,
saponins, steroids, tannins and terpenoids, all of which may be potential sources of phyto-antiinflammatory agents. In conclusion, our
work suggests that
T. monadelpha is a potential source of antiinflammatory agents.
