ANTIINFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF FLOWER EXTRACT OF BUTEA MONOSPERMA

Butea monosperma (Family: Fabaceae). This is a moderate sized deciduous tree which is widely distributed throughout India, Burma and Ceylon, popularly known as ‘dhak’ or ‘palas,’ commonly known as ‘Flame of the forest’. The family Fabaceae compromises of 630 genera and 18,000 species. It finds use both medicinally and commercially with each part of the plant having utility. This plant species has been found to display a wide variety of biological activities. The plant is traditionally reported to possess astringent, bitter, alternative, aphrodisiac, anthelmintic, antibacterial and anti-asthmatic properties. Bark yield red juice known as ‘Butea gum’ or ‘Bengal kino’. It’s reported pharmacological properties include anthelmintic, anti-conceptive, anticonvulsive, antidiabetic, antidiarrhoeal, antiestrogenic and antifertility, antimicrobial, antifungal, antibacterial, antistress, chemopreventive, haemagglutinating, hepatoprotective, radical scavenging, thyroid inhibitory, antiperoxidative and hypoglycemic effects and wound healing activities. It is a powerful astringent and is given in many forms of chronic diarrhoea. Seeds have anthelmintic property, especially for roundworms and tapeworms. Flowers yield a brilliant yellow coloring matter due to the presence of chalcones. Such herbal medicines may provide the potential effect as of compared to the conventional available synthetic drugs, with less or no side effects.