Anti-inflammatory and immunological effects of Centaurea cyanus flower-heads

Centaurea cyanus flower-heads are used in European phytotherapy for the tre atment of minor ocular inflammations. Different pharmacological experiments (inhibition of carrageenan, zymosan and croton oil-induced oedemas, inhibi tion of plasma haemolytic activity, induction of anaphylatoxin activity) sh owed that polysaccharides extracted from C. cyanus flower-heads had anti-in flammatory properties and interfered with complement. Moreover, these polys accharides were found to be mainly composed of galacturonic acid, arabinose , glucose, rhamnose and galactose. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. A ll rights reserved.