Berberis aristata (Berberidaceae) a well-known liver tonic is widely distributed throughout India. It has been traditionally used as a blood purifier. It is widely used in Chinese folk medicine as anti-arhythmics, anti-hypertensive and anti-ophthalmic. Roots have been used in European folk medicine for inflammation. In the present study, the anti-inflammatory potential of solvent extracts of roots of Berberis aristata and isolation of anti-inflammatory compound from potent extracts was determined. Different solvent extracts of roots of Berberis aristata were prepared on the basis of increasing polarity viz. hexane, chloroform, ethanol and water by cold percolation method. These extracts were screened for in vitro anti-inflammatory activity via conventional procedures viz. HRBC membrane stabilization, inhibition of albumen denaturation and inhibition of heat induced hemolysis. Further these extracts were evaluated for anti-inflammatory potential against carrageenan induced albino rats. The potent extracts were screened for isolation of anti-inflammatory compound via chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. Significant differences between the experimental groups were assessed by analysis of variance. It was found that the polar extracts showed potent inhibition of paw edema in comparison to non polar extracts in dose dependent manner. The non polar extracts showed anti-inflammatory activity but much minimum in comparison to that of polar extracts. The results revealed that ethanol extracts causes 80 % inhibition of paw edema in comparison to that aqueous extracts showing 72 % inhibition of paw edema at doses 50 mg/kg (P<0.05). The extracts showed higher anti-inflammatory potential as the dose varies thus the extracts showed significant anti-inflammatory activity in dose-dependent manner. The ethanolic extracts exhibited significant membrane stabilization effect by inhibiting hypotonicity induced lysis of erythrocyte membrane followed by aqueous extracts. The erythrocyte membrane is analogous to the lysosomal membrane, and its stabilization implies that the extract may also stabilize lysosomal membrane. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and FT-IR spectra results confirmed the presence of Berberine compound in potent ethanolic extract. The compound was further screened in particular dosage for anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan induced albino rats against standard drug, Diclofenac sodium. The results confirmed the potent antiinflammatory activity of Berberine. It was found that the compound showed potent reduction (80 %) in paw edema in comparison to standard drug (70 %) (P<0.05). The results thus confirmed the potent anti-inflammatory activity of Berberine isolated from Berberis aristata.