Assessment of Anti-inflammatory and Anti-nociceptive Properties of Aqueous Seed Extract of Carica papaya in Albino Wistar Rats

This study was undertaken to assess analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of seed extract of Carica papaya. Aqueous extracts of the plant at doses of 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg body weight were used for the study on fifty adult white albino wistar rats weighing between 150 to 200 g. The extracts were evaluated for analgesic activity through tail immersion test using 25 rats while anti-inflammatory assay was performed by fresh egg albumin-induced paw oedema using 25 rats. For each model, the rats were divided into five groups of 5 rats each. Group 1 served as the negative control group, group 2 served as the positive control group while groups 3, 4 and 5 received 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg body weight of the plant extract respectively. Pethidine and aspirin were employed as a standard (positive control) for analgesic and anti-inflammatory studies respectively. Normal saline was used as negative control. Results showed statistically significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties in a dose and time dependent manner (p<0.05). The results thus validate the ethnomedicinal usage of Carica papaya seed extracts in the management of pain and inflammation.