Abstract

Abstract : Inflammation is a body response that serves as a defense to injury and is a basic pathologic process of diseases. Currently, anti-inflammatory drugs are widely available. However, due to their severe side effects, interest has been redirected to develop alternative treatments with better safety profiles from natural resources. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of the crude sulfated polysaccharide extracted from Sargassum polycystum C. Agardh (Spsp), a brown seaweed that grows abundant in the Philippines. The anti-inflammatory activity of Spsp was measured in vivo using carrageenan-induced rat paw edema assay. Different doses (2000, 1000, and 500 mg/kgBW) of Spsp were administered orally to rats one hour before carrageenan injection at their right hind paws. The paw volumes were measured using a plethysmometer every hour for six hours. The %edema rate was calculated against groups treated with the positive control, Diclofenac sodium (150 mg/kgBW), and negative control, water (10 mL/kgBW). Results suggest that Spsp has anti-inflammatory activity as evidence by the ability of all doses to decrease %edema rate without significant difference (p>0.05) to Diclofenac sodium during the 1st to 6th hour of observation. Also, a dose-dependent response was observed starting from the first hour after carrageenan injection.