INHIBITORY EFFECT OF THE METHANOL EXTRACTS FROM COMPOSITAE PLANTS ON 12-O-TETRADECANOYLPHORBOL-13-ACETATE-INDUCED EAR EDEMA IN MICE

We report that the extracts of Compositae plants inhibit 12-O-tetradec anoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced ear oedema in mice. Seventy five methanol extracts obtained from 53 species in 11 tribes of Compositae plants were assayed and their inhibitory ratios calculated. In genera l, medicinal and edible plant extracts were snore effective inhibitors than those from other materials, and the flower extracts were more ef fective inhibitors than those from other parts. The methanol extracts of the flowers of Cirsium arvense, Taraxacum officinale and T. platyca rpum (dandelion), Chrysanthemum morifolium var, sinensis forma esculen tum (edible chrysanthemum), C. nippanicum, Matricaria matricarioides a nd Helianthus annuus (sunflower) markedly inhibited the inflammation i nduced by TPA in mice. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.