Antiarthritis activity of Aristolochia bracteata extract in experimental animals.

The Aristolochia bracteata is well known for its antiarthritis properties in Indian system of medicine and folk medicine. The objective of the present study was to evaluate its folk claim in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and propose a probable mechanism of action. Anti arthritic activity was evaluated using Freund's complete adjuvant in rats, the course of treatment was followed for over and 4 weeks post inoculation period using health parameters, clinical and behavioral methods of study. Estimation of blood Hb, ESR and change in body weight were considered as health parameters and clinical observations included paw edema volume, thermal hyperalgesia, radiological and histomarphological analysis and exploratory behavior was studied in behavioral observations. The results indicates that, regular treatment of adjuvant in- duced arthritic rats with A. bracteata extracts improves ESR, Hb value and also restores body weight. Significant (P<0.01) inhibitory effect was observed with A. bracteata extract on Freund's complete adjuvant induced paw edema throughout the study (P<0.001). The latency to thermal stimuli and inhibitory effect on xylene induced ear edema was significantly (P<0.05) affected by oral treatment of A. bracteata, irrespective of solvent used for extraction. Treatment of FCA induced rats with A. bracteata extracts shown (P<0.05) increase in pain threshold, weight bearing ability, ambulation and also de- cline in scratching, defecation and urination, were observed as a sign of improvement in behavioral condition. The results obtained in this study showed promising effect on FCA modulated health status, clinical observations and behavioral changes.