Anti-inflammatory Effect of Cajanus indicus (Linn.) Mill. in a Murine Model of Asthma

The present study was undertaken to explore the effects of Cajanus indicus (Linn.) Mill. on airway inflammation and oxidative stress in ovalbumin-induced inflammation and antilipoxygenase activity in a murine model of asthma. The protective effect of extract of whole plant of Cajanus indicus (Linn.) Mill. against ovalbumin induced lung inflammation and arachidonic acid induced paw inflammation was evaluated. Hydroalcoholic extract of Cajanus indicus (Linn.) Mill.(CI) showed significant inhibition of total as well as differential leukocytes in the bronchalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid at dose of 350 and 525 mg/kg, p.o. (p<0.01).Pretreatment with CI significantly restored (p<0.01) the level of GSH, SOD,CATALASE and LPO in lungs. In BAL fluid, treatment of CI significantly reduced nitric oxide and total protein level. CI significantly inhibited arachidonic acid induced paw edema (p<0.01). Hence it can be concluded that Cajanus indicus (Linn.) Mill. has significant anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antilipoxygenase effect.