The acute stage of arthritis is characterized by the signs of
hyperalgesia, lack of mobility and pause in body weight gain
(data not shown). During the acute period, hind paw and fore
paw joint diameters increased. In the formaldehyde induced
arthritis inflammation test, MEBL extracts showed significant
inhibition of the edema formation during experimental
period of 10 days. In the later acute stages of the disease
(day 12 onwards) rats with adjuvant arthritis were relatively
immobile due to the severity of paw swelling.