365plant extracts with different degrees ranging from 47 to 62%. The methanol extract of celery, sage and eucalyptus showed improvement in the level of plasma malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-α and uric acid and also showed significant improvements in body weight and total food intake. The methanol extract of celery, sage and eucalyptus showed complete safety for liver and kidney functions. α-Linolenic acid and linoleic acid were present in all the studied plants. Stigmasterol and b-sitosterol were present in all the studied plants. KEY-WORDS:Anti-arthritic -Anti-inflammatory -Celery -Eucalyptus sage -Sweet basil. INTRODUCTIONRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the major human autoimmune diseases affecting about 1 per cent of the adult population (Lipsky, 2005). The disease is characterized by inflammation of the synovial tissue and damage to the cartilage and bone of the joints, leading to severe deformities (Brennan & McInnes, 2008;Gorman & Cope, 2008). The drugs that inhibit inflammatory reactions are a vital component of the therapeutic arsenal against RA (Kremers et al., 2004). However, the adverse reactions and toxicity associated with the use of these drugs have expeditiously promoted the use of natural plant products or procedures belonging to the diverse traditional systems of medicine by patients with RA (Nozaki et al., 2006;Chang et al., 2010) and other chronic inflammatory disorders (Salvioli et al., 2007;Jung et al., 2007;Alleva et al., 2010). This growing trend warrants a continuous search for new natural anti-arthritic products. Adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) is a wellestablished model of rheumatoid arthritis that can be induced in rats by an intradermal injection of Freund's adjuvant (Holmdahl et al., 2001). The AIA model reproduces most of the bone changes found in RA (Holmdahl et al., 2001), including inflammatory bone loss, which has been linked to an increased risk of fracture (Joffe & Epstein, 1991). The role of plant products in various diseases has been known RESUMEN Evaluación de los efectos anti-inflamatorio y antiartrítico de algunos extractos de plantasEl objetivo de la presente investigación ha sido estudiar la actividad anti-inflamatoria de flores de albahaca dulces, hojas de eucalipto, hojas de apio y salvia. Se ha estudiado el efecto sobre la inflamación aguda de extractos metanólicos de apio, salvia y eucalipto y sobre la artritis inducida en ratas. Se han evaluado los efectos de los extractos metanólicos de apio, salvia y eucalipto sobre los parámetros bioquímicos determinados en la artritis inducida y su seguridad en las funciones del hígado y el riñón. Se han estudiado los ácidos grasos, hidrocarburos y fitoesteroles de todas las plantas objeto de la investigación. Los resultados han revelado una actividad antiinflamatoria de los extractos de las plantas estudiadas con diferentes grados entre un 47 y un 62%. Los extractos metanólico de apio, de salvia y de eucalipto han mostrado una mejoría de los niveles de malondialdehído en plasma, factor de necrosis tumoral α y de á...