Colebrookea Oppositifolia Anti Arthritic Potential Vs Methotrexate in Pristane Induced Rat Arthritis

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease of joints with 0.24% global prevalence. Numerous pharmacological agents are available for the management of RA, but they are associated with many adverse effects. Alternative therapies for disease management are urgently needed. Colebrookea oppositifolia (CO) is an important herb with various traditional uses and pharmacological actions. In the present study, anti-arthritic effect of ethanolic extract of Colebrookea oppositifolia (EECO) leaves was evaluated in pristane induced arthritic rats (PIA) and compared to methotrexate by assessing body weight, clinical score of inflammation and histopathology. Aims & Objectives: To study anti-arthritic effect of C. oppositifolia on a rat model of pristane induced arthritis. Place and duration of study: This experimental study was conducted in Animal House of Post Graduate Medical Institute, Lahore from March to September 2019. Material & Methods: Total forty female Sprague Dawley rats were categorized into five equal groups (n=8). Group A (normal control), group B (disease control). Group C and D belonged to low dose (250mg/kg) and high dose (500mg/kg) EECO treated groups respectively, while group E was methotrexate treated group. Arthritis was induced within two weeks by single intradermal injection of pristane on day 0 in groups B, C, D and E. At Day 15, treatment was initiated and at day 28 paw joint sections were taken for histopathology. Data input and analysis was done by using IBM SPSS version p value ?0.05 was considered significant. Results: At week 4, significant increase (approximately 16%) in body weight was observed in all treated groups as compared to disease control. A significant reduction (more than 50%) in clinical score of arthritis was observed in all treated groups compared to diseased control group in which clinical score was 14.50±0.2. All extract and MTX treated groups showed significant improvement (p<0.001) in total histological score of arthritis (no rat was having severe disease) as compared to disease control group (75% of the rats were having severe disease). Conclusion: This study supported anti-arthritic effect of EECO as illustrated by reduction in inflammatory and histopathological score.