Study on Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic Effect of Ethanol Extract of Atractylodes Macrocephala Koidz

OBJECTIVE To investigate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of the ethanol extract of Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. (EAM). METHODS Analgesic activity of EAM was evaluated by hot-plate test and acetic acid-induced writhing test on ICR mice, while anti-inflammatory activity of EAM was assessed by xylene-induced ear edema on ICR mice and carrageenan-induced rat paw edema on SD rats. RESULTS High and medium doses of the EAM could prolong the threshold time of pain(P<0.01), reduce the writhing times induced by acetic acid(P<0.01), and inhibit the edema induced by xylene and canageenan(P<0.01), while low dose of the EAM showed no siginificance differences compared to the control group in all experiments. In carrageenan-induced paw edema model, high dose of EAM could inhibit the paw swelling significantly since 2 h of administration, and in the period of 0.5-6 h after drug administration, medium dose of EAM (with the exception of 6 h) and low dose of EAM (with the exception of 3 h) had no significant differences compared with model group. CONCLUSION The ethanol extract of EAM has analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, and present the dose-response relationship.