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Five plants which have been used for the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis and gout in the traditional medicine of Saudi Arabia, were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory properties. Of these the ethanolic extract of Capparis decidua and the aqueous extract of Capparis spinosa were found to possess significant anti-inflammatory activity against carrageenan induced oedema in rats. These two plants were also tested for their antipyretic and analgesic activity. C. decidua was found to possess significant antipyretic effect. Both of them are devoid of analgesic activity.

The effect of Alpinia galanga extract has been studied on experimentally induced gastric ulcers in rats. The ethanolic extract of A . galango at a dose of 500 mg/kg, significantly reduced the intensity of gastric mucosal damage induced by pyloric ligation and hypothermic restraint stress in rats. It produced a significant decrease in gastric secretion in pylorus ligated rats and a highly significant cytoprotective sffect against 80% ethanol-, 0.6 M HCI-, 0.2 M NaOH-and 25% NaCI-induced cytodestruction. Pretreatment with the extract significantly prevented hypothermic stress-induced gastric wall mucus depletion. These Sndings suggest that a significant antisecretory and cytoprotective action of A. galanga may be responsible for its antiulcer activity.

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