Anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of the successive extracts of the aerial parts of Rumex pictus Forssk. growing in Egypt

Rumex spp. have been used in folk medicine either as food or as medicine for the treatment of several diseases including constipation, fever, inflammation, bacterial and fungal infections. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of the successive extracts of the aerial parts of Rumex pictus Forssk. growing in Egypt, and to identify the chemical constituents in the bioactive extract.

Ether, chloroformic, and 70% methanolic extracts of the aerial parts of R. pictus were assayed for their in vivo anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenan-induced rat hind paw edema method. These extracts were also tested for their in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities using disc diffusion method.

The 70% methanolic extract of R. pictus exhibited significant anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anti-candida activities. Thus, fractionation of the bioactive extract was performed which led to the isolation of three anthraquinones, as well as, seven flavonoids.

Rumex pictus possesses anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities which reinforce its use in ethnomedicine.