Ameliorative and anti-arthritic potential of arjunolic acid against complete Freund’s adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats

• Published in: Tropical journal of pharmaceutical research Vol. 19; no. 9; pp. 1933 - 1939
• Main Authors: Fan, Yi, Zhang, Cheng, Zheng, Guotao, Wu, Shuai, Wang, Yujie, Bian, Jinsong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.09.2020
• ISSN: 1596-5996; 1596-9827
• DOI: 10.4314/tjpr.v19i9.19

Purpose: To determine the anti-arthritic effect of arjunolic acid against complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritis in rats.Methods: Arthritis was induced in male Sprague Dawley rats by intradermal injection of 0.1 mL of CFA at the right footpad. Upon induction of osteoarthritis, arjunolic acid was administered via oral gavage at doses of 40 and 80 mg/kg once daily for 25 successive days. Indomethacin was used as reference drug at a dose of 3 mg/kg via gavage twice weekly for 25 days. Changes in paw swelling, serum hematology, antioxidant enzymes, serum inflammatory mediators, and histopathology were determined using standard procedures.Results: Paw swelling and weight loss in CFA-induced arthritic rats were significantly reversed (p < 0.01) by arjunolic acid. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, spleen index and thymus index were significantly reduced in CFA-induced arthritic rats (p < 0.01). Moreover, arjunolic significantly increased superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities, while downregulating the expressions of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in serum (p < 0.01). The hematological and histopathological changes due to CFA-induced arthritis were ameliorated by arjunolic acid.Conclusion: The results obtained in this study indicate that arjunolic acid may possess therapeutic potentials for the management of arthritis. Keywords: Arjunolic acid, Triterpenoid; Oxidative stress, osteoarthritis, Inflammation