Antimalarial drug artesunate affords protection against carrageenan induced acute inflammation in rat

Artesunate, an antimalarial drug, has been shown to inhibit the release of inflammatory mediators in various disease conditions. The present study was carried out to evaluate the anti-edematogenic effect of artesunate in the rat paw edema model. Inflammation was induced in the hind paw of rat by sub-plantar injection of 0.1 mL of 0.5% carrageenan and the paw volume was measured up to a fixed mark just before the injection and then after 3 h. The difference in two volumes gave a measure of edema formation. At 3h the level of TNF-alpha, PGE(2) and myeloperoxidase were estimated in the inflamed paw tissue. Treatment of rats with single dose of artesunate at 50 and 150 mg/kg produced a dose-dependent inhibition in paw inflammation where a significant reduction in edema volume and mediator release was observed. Our study shows that by inhibiting the release of inflammatory mediators artesunate affords protection against acute inflammation induced in the rat paw and suggests that it has a potential to be used in the treatment of inflammatory disease conditions.