Anti-arthritic property of the methanolic extract of Syzygium cumini seeds

Syzygium cumini (Family: Myrtaceae) is a folklore plant traditionally indicated to treat various inflammatory disorders. In this study, the anti-arthritic effect of oral administration of methanolic extract of Syzygium cumini seeds (SME) at the dose of 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg on Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA) induced arthritis has been studied in rats. The treatment is assessed by measuring the paw volume and by using various hematological parameters like hemoglobin (Hb) content, total red blood cell (RBC) count, white blood cell (WBC) count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).The investigated results showed that the extract inhibited the FCA induced arthritis in a dose dependent manner and this effect was more significant (p<0.001) with 500 mg/kg dose. SME showed significant effect in preventing the rat paw edema volume and improved the RBC count, Hb level and the ESR to a near normal level when compared to FCA induced arthritis rats. In addition, SME also significantly decreased the WBC count in FCA induced arthritis rats. Administration of extract improved the body weight significantly when compared to FCA induced arthritis rats. Radiographic analysis also confirms the potent anti-arthritic effect of SME. The standard drug Indomethacin (10 mg/kg) also produced significant anti-arthritic effect in rats. The anti-arthritic effect of SME was compared to that of standard drug Indomethacin. The results suggest that the methanolic extract of Syzygium cumini seeds (SME) exhibits significant anti-arthritic effect.