The anti-inflammatory effect of ethanolic ginger extract against carrageenan-induced rat paw edema

Background: Ginger, the rhizome of Zingiber officinale, a commom constituent of diet worldwide, has some pharmacological activities. Objectives: The present study was undertaken to investigate the antiinflammatory effect of ginger extract against carrageenan-induced inflammation in the rat paw. Methods: One kilogram of air-dried rhizomes of zingiber officinale was extracted with 6L ethyl alcohol (96%). Thirty-six male Wister rats were divided into 6 groups (6 per each); the control group (C-Group): rats were injected intraperitoneally by DMSO (0.1 ml/kg). Ca-Group: rats were injected intraperitoneally with DMSO followed by subcutaneous injection with carrageenan solution [0.1 ml (1% w/v)]. Ce + Ca Group: rats were injected intraperitoneally with single dose of CeleCOXib (25 mg/kg) as NSAID. After that, it were injected subcutaneously by carrageenan solution [0.1 ml (1% w/v)]. G300+Ca Group: rats were injected intraperitoneally by ethanolic ginger extract (300 mg/kg) followed by a subcutaneous injection with carrageenan solution. G600+Ca Group: rats were injected intraperitoneally with ethanolic ginger extract (600 mg/kg) followed by a subcutaneous injection with carrageenan solution. G900+Ca Group: rats were injected intraperitoneally with ethanolic ginger extract (900 mg/kg) followed by a subcutaneous injection with carrageenan solution. Results: Carrageenan treatment induced significant increases in the activities of COX‐2 and LOX as well as the MDA level while caused significant decline in GSH level compared to the control group. The rats injected with ginger extract followed by carrageenan showed significant decline in the activities of COX‐2 and LOX as well as the MDA level compared to the carrageenan-treated group. Our results indicated that the ginger at the higher doses were more effective. Our results concluded that the ginger extract causes inhibition of the edema in paw especially at the higher doses compared to the reference drug.