Salix babylonica a source of active compounds for the treatment of inflammatory diseases in animals

The wellbeing of terrestrial animals describes society's expectations for the conditions animals should experience when under human control. These principles include that animals must be free from pain, injury and disease. Inflammation is a host's defensive mechanism against bacterial or viral infection and physical or chemical stimulus to the host. Metabolites from plants are an efficient alternative for treatment of inflammatory diseases. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory capacity of a hydro-alcoholic extract from Salix babylonica leaves (HESB) employing the auricular edema induced by the TPA model in mice. The HESB showed good anti-inflammatory activity without significant difference from the reference drug, indomethacin. For this reason, a bipartition of HESB was conducted, obtaining an aqueous fraction (AFSB) with slight activity (30.64 & PLUSMN; 3.03 %) and an organic fraction (EAFSB), which showed the best anti-inflammatory effect (67.08 & PLUSMN; 7.15 %). Previously, we identified anti-inflammatory flavonoids luteolin and luteoloside as the major components of EAFSB. In addition, histopathological analysis showed that mouse ears treated with Salix babylonica suppressed neutrophil infiltration into the inflammation site. These results support the ethno-medical use of this plant and evidenced that Salix babylonica's applicability and value as an anti-inflammatory treatment for animals.