Anti-rheumatoid arthritis effects of traditional Chinese herb couple in adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats

Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance Clematis chinensis Osbeck / Notopterygium incisum Ting ex H, T-Chang (CN) is a traditional Chinese herb couple with prominent efficacy. The herb couple has been commonly used for clinical treatment of arthralgia syndrome (“Bi Zheng” in Chinese) for centuries in China, including rheumatic arthritis, osteoarthritis and gout in modern medicine. Aim of the study To evaluate the anti-arthritic effect of CN herb couple in a rat model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Materials and methods Rats were divided randomly into six groups with eight each. Adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) model was established by intradermal injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Rats were treated orally with different dosages of CN (0.7 g/kg, 2.1 g/kg, 6.3 g/kg) from day 16 till day 40. Ibuprofen (50.4 mg/kg) served as a positive control. Spontaneous activity, body weight, paw swelling, and arthritis index (AI) were monitored throughout drug treatment. Then serum levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. In addition, histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry were used to assess the severity of arthritis. Results Three dosage of CN significantly ameliorated symptoms of RA via increasing body weight as well as reducing paw swelling (at dose of 6.3 g/kg, p p p Conclusions To conclude, all results suggest that CN possesses evident anti-arthritic effects in AIA rats.