IN VITRO COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MEMBRANE STABILIZATION CAPACITY OF DIFFERENT EXTRACTS OF BLEPHARIS MADERASPATENSIS (L.) HEYNE EX ROTH. AND BLEPHARIS MOLLUGINIFOLIA PERS. GROWN IN THE REGION OF MYSORE, KARNATAKA

Blepharis is a genus belonging to family Acanthaceae. It is an Afro-asiatic genus comprising 129 species which occur in arid and semi-arid habitats. They are used for the treatment of a number of ailments. Anti-inflammatory activity was performed based on the folk lore information. The present study is aimed at the evaluation ofanti-inflammatory property of the petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and ethanolic extracts of Blepharis maderaspatensis (L.) Heyne ex Roth. and Blepharis molluginifoliaPers. whole plantby using Human red blood cell (HRBC) membrane stabilization method. Ibuprofen is used as reference drug for comparison. HRBC method was selected for the in vitro evaluation of anti-inflammatory property because the erythrocyte membrane is analogous to the lysosomal membrane and its stabilization implies that the extract may as well stabilize lysosomal membranes. The results revealed that both Blepharis maderaspatensis (L.) Heyne ex Roth. and Blepharis molluginifoliaPers. have anti-inflammatory activity. Among the test samples tested for membrane stabilization, Blepharis maderaspatensis ethyl acetate extract showed better membrane stability with 323.3±15.7 IC₅₀ (µg/ml),  followed by with same plant alcoholic extract with 377.6±21.3  IC₅₀ (µg/ml). The result of the present study authenticates the folk lore information on the anti-inflammatory properties of the above plants.