Phytochemical screening and pharmacological activities of Ulmus campestris bark extracts

Ulmus campestris (Ulmaceae) is a medicinal plant traditionally used to treat various ailments, including inflammatory diseases. In order to establish pharmacological properties of Ulmus campestris bark extracts obtained with a selective extraction procedure, several studies were performed. Results showed strong scavenging activity of extracts against DPPH (IC50 = 03.90 μg/ml), hydrogen peroxide (IC50 = 71.05 μg/ml), hydroxyl (IC50 = 40.13 μg/ml), hypochlorous acid (IC50 < 100 μg/ml) and ABTS•+ (IC50 = 12.16 μg/ml) radicals. Moreover, U. Campestris extracts inhibited lipid peroxidation (52.60 ± 0.37 %) and xanthine oxidase activity (IC50 = 285.25 μg/ml) effectively. The crude extract of U. campestris extract (400 mg/kg) exhibited a significant effect (50.60 %) on carrageenan-induced inflammation, acetic acid-induced writhing (33.68 %) and on tail immersion (73.00 %) tests. The extract was also effective on brewer’s yeast-induced fever. Obtained results may well explain the use of U. campestris in folk medicine, especially in the treatment of pain, gout and inflammatory diseases. © 2015, Institute of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University and Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.