Anti-arthritic activity of <i>Ricinus communis</i> L. and <i>Withania somnifera</i> L. extracts in adjuvant-induced arthritic rats <i>via</i> modulating inflammatory mediators and subsiding oxidative stress.
Asif Hussain, Bilal Aslam, Faqir Muhammad, Muhammad Naeem Faisal, Shaneel Kousar, Aqsa Mushtaq, Muhammad Usman Bari
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: roots' hydroalcoholic extracts in Complete Freund's adjuvant-induced arthritis in Wistar rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HPLC and FT-IR analysis detected pharmacologically important phytocompounds in both plant extracts. Oral treatments including methotrexate (MTX; 3 mg/kg twice a week) and extracts at 250 and 500 mg/kg/day were initiated after arthritis induction. Changes in paw swelling, arthritic score, body weight, organ indices (thymus and spleen), hematological and biochemical parameters, and pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokine expression using qRT-PCR were assessed. Oxidative stress markers in hepatic tissue were determined. Histopathological and radiological examinations were also performed. RESULTS: <0.01) ameliorated with RCE and WSE treatment. Both plants persuasively down-regulated IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17a, TNF-α, and RANKL and up-regulated IL-4, INF-γ, and OPG relative expression as well as alleviating hepatic oxidative stress parameters. Histopathological and radiological findings revealed a marked reduction in tissue inflammation and bone erosion in extracts treated groups. CONCLUSION: roots have markedly subsided inflammation and improved health through modulating pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokine expression and reducing oxidative stress.