Antiinflammatory activity of leaf and leaf callus of Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. in albino rats

Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. is an important medicinal plant of family Compositae, commonly known as Milk-thistle, or St. Mary’s thistle. The plant and its extracts are reported to possess hepatoprotective, antioxidant, [1] anticancer, [2] antiinflammatory and antidiabetic properties. It contains flavonolignan Silymarin, which is an important bioactive principle having anticancer, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory effects. However, till date, no antiinflammatory activity has been carried out on tissue cultures developed from S. marianum. Therefore, it was thought worthwhile, to determine the antiinflammatory activity of plant cultures developed in vitro. In the present investigation, the leaf callus of plant has been successfully developed and maintained for six months. The methanolic extract of dried leaf callus was examined for antiinflammatory activity, using carrageenan and formalininduced rat paw oedema models, which was also compared with that of leaf extract. Leaves were collected from the plants grown in the herbal garden of Hamdard University, New Delhi, identified by Department of Botany, and the voucher specimen was kept in the herbarium of the University. The immature leaves were washed with water and detergent, followed by rinsing with double distilled water, to remove the detergent. The cleaned leaves were then transferred aseptically to Mercuric chloride solution (0.5% w/v) and stirred for five minutes. Then these were removed and washed six times with double distilled water, for complete removal of chemical sterilent. The sterilized leaves were then transferred in culture tubes (Borosil glass works Ltd.) containing Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium [6]