Anti-Arthritis, Antioxidant and Anti - Inflammatory Potential of Ethanolic Extract of Guava Leaves on Rats Exposed to High Fat Diet and Freud Adjuvant

Guava leaves (Psidium guajava) have been used traditionally for years to treat common ailments such as Diabetes, diarrhoea, and hypertension. This study was designed to determine the anti-arthritic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effect of the ethanolic extract of guava leaf (Psidium guajava) on rats fed with a high-fat diet and induced arthritis using complete Freud Adjuvant. Seventy-two male and female albino rats were used in this study, the rats were grouped into 12 with 6 rats in each group, rats were fed a high-fat diet to cause hyperlipidaemia and induced rheumatoid arthritis by injecting 0.1ml of Complete Freund’s Adjuvant into their right hind paw. Group 1 was fed with normal feed and water, group 2 was made of healthy rats, fed with normal feed, water, and guava leaf extract, group 3 was fed with a high-fat diet and induced arthritis with complete Freund’s Adjuvant (CFA) and water, group 4 received dexamethasone (6.75 mg.kg-1 orally), and groups 5 to 12 received the extract at oral doses of 250 and 750 mg/kg, respectively for a period of 28days. ELISA technique was used to analyse the inflammatory markers, antioxidants; SOD, and MDA, while the lipid profile was on a spectrophotometer. The inflammatory markers TNF-α, IL-6, and C-reactive protein were significantly reduced in test subjects at p<0.05, HDL and SOD had no statically significant difference, while MDA was markedly reduced at p<0.05. This study demonstrates that Psidium guajava extract has significant anti-arthritic and lipid-lowering effects. Psidium guajava leaves can be developed into an alternative anti-arthritis and lipid-lowering treatment.