Comparison of anti-inflammatory activity of various species of lamiaceae

Abstract

The process of inflammation is often triggered by the stimulus from outside sources that usally cause harm to human skin and tissues. It is a response of the body that protects itself from external agents but when it is excess and built up in the body it causes some worsening symptoms. Synthetic drugs usually cause side effects and adverse effects. Herbs are normally known to combat inflammations and fight free radicals. The antioxidants present in the herbs causes the preventive action of the oxidation and causes lowering of the inflammation. There were also investigations performed on the plant to prove the above activities. Among all the plants that are available in nature lamiaceae members, plants like Molucella laevis, Nepeta cataria, Vitex agnus, Origanum dictamnus and Mentha piperata were considered as major medicinal plants with a lot of medical applications. 5 members of lamiaceae were selected to study and compare the anti-inflammatory activity and the data suggests all the plants have better activity and out of all the Mentha extract showed a significantly better activity compared to the standard drug.