Abstract: Higenamine was shown to possess marked antiinflammatory action on swelling induced by histamine in the rat hind paw. Since the drug also showed strong ability to scavenge superoxide anion radical (O₂^-), inhibition the lipid peroxidation of rat liver homogenate and decrease the polymerization of glycosamine glycan (hyaluronic acid and bovine synovial fluid), the authors presume that the mechanism of protective action is probably the scavenging of superoxide anion radical in svnovial fluid.