Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic activities of Thymus linearis

The present study was aimed to investigate the antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity of aqueous methanolic and n-hexane extract of Thymus linearis. For measuring analgesic activity, writhing test, hot plate method and formalin test were performed and abdominal writhing was induced by intra-peritoneal injection of 0.2 ml of 3% acetic acid. While in formalin test, pain was experimentally induced by injecting 25 mu l of 2.5% formalin in left hind paw. In hot plate method, pain was induced thermally by keeping the animals on a hot plate with temperature of about 51 degrees C. Anti-inflammatory activity was assessed by carrageenan induced mice paw edema. For determination of antipyretic activity, pyrexia was induced by subcutaneous injection of 15% yeast. The results showed that both the extracts had significant analgesic activity (p<0.05); anti-inflammatory activity (p<0.05) and anti-pyretic activity (p<0.05). Therefore, it was concluded from this study that the extracts of Thymus linearis may be used against pain, pyrexia and inflammation.