Title:Exploring the Effect of Terminalia catappa Fruit Extract in Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Evaluation of Behavioural, Hematologiocal and Histopathological Parameters
Volume: 21
Issue: 6
Author(s): Tapan Behl*, Rashita Makkar and Sandeep Arora
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmacology, Chitkara University, Rajpura, Punjab,India
Keywords:
Rheumatoid arthritis, oxidative stress, angiogenesis, inflammation, cytokines, hydroalcoholic extract.
Abstract:
Background and Objective: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized
by failure of spontaneous resolution of inflammation with lifetime perseverance, becoming
principal cause of inactivity. Many conventional therapies are in use but the side effects associated
with them are equally problematic. Therefore, an urge to explore advanced therapeutic approaches
with least adverse events has seeded the idea of discovering newer herbal drugs and their
respective constituents in management of RA. The current research explores anti-arthritic activity
of Terminalia catappa fruits hydroalcoholic extract in CFA induced Wistar rats.
Methods: The fruits were obtained, washed, dried and processed to obtain hydroalcoholic powdered
extract which was dissolved in water and given orally to the rats. Wistar rats of either sex
were used in the study. The animals were injected with 0.1 ml of complete freund’s adjuvant (CFA)
in footpad of left hind paw. The treatment was initiated from day 0 by oral dosing of Terminalia
catappa fruit extract in doses of 40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg followed by CFA administration to
day 21 and behavioral, hematological parameters besides histopathological screening were assessed
simultaneously.
Results: The arthritic symptoms were observed to gradually decrease in treatment groups when
compared against disease control groups. The parameters like body weight and pain latency were
increased whereas paw volume and arthritic score were found to significantly decrease in treatment
groups as compared to disease control group. The hematological parameters were also modified
and were studied in treatment groups. The histopathological estimation depicted extent of damage
in joint tissue of diseased rat comparable to normal, standard and combination therapy group.
Conclusion: The fruits possess anti-arthritic properties and significantly reduced paw volume,
arthritic score and increased pain threshold and body weight gain besides theory hematological effects
like increase in Hb and RBC and decrease in WBC, platelets and ESR levels simultaneously.
The histopathological estimation confirmed decreased deterioration of joint tissue in treatment
groups as compared to disease control group hence proving to be an emerging therapeutic option in
management of RA.
