The acute inflammatory response results in a widespread and complex cascade of cytokine and lymphokine production (interleukins, interferons, eicosanoids etc). “Acute phase proteins” (APP) is the collective term for proteins which are synthesised and released from the liver in response to inflammatory cytokines. These proteins include fibrinogen, serum amyloid A, caeruloplasmin, C-reactive protein, haptoglobin and several others. A panel of these acute phase proteins are used in human clinical pathology, however in many veterinary laboratories fibrinogen is the only APP which is measured. The LEH Laboratory offers serum amyloid A which is frequently a more sensitive indicator of inflammation than fibrinogen alone and may be more useful in monitoring responses to infection in the first few days of disease.

Acute phase proteins

Ethno pharmacological relevance: Traditional medicinal plants are practiced worldwide for treatment of arthritis especially in developing countries where resources are meagre. This review presents the plants profiles inhabiting throughout the world regarding their traditional usage by various tribes/ethnic groups for treatment of arthritis.
Materials and methods: Bibliographic investigation was carried out by analysing classical text books and peer reviewed papers, consulting worldwide accepted scientific databases from the last six decades. Plants/their parts/extracts/polyherbal formulations/toxicity studies for arthritis have been included in the review article. The profiles presented also include information about the scientific name, family, dose, methodology along with mechanism of action and toxicity profile. Research status of twenty potential plant species has been discussed. Further, geographical distribution of research, plants distribution according to families has been given in graphical form.
Results: 485 plant species belonging to 100 families, traditionally used in arthritis are used. Among 100 plant families, malvaceae constitute 16, leguminasae 7, fabaceae 13, euphorbiaceae 7, compositae 20, araceae 7, solanaceae 12, liliaceae 9, apocynaceae, lauraceae and rubiaceae 10, and remaining in lesser proportion. It was observed in our study that majority of researches are carried mainly in developing countries like India, China, Korea and Nigeria.
Conclusion: This review clearly indicates that list of medicinal plants presented in this review might be useful to researchers as well as practioners. This review can be useful for preliminary screening of potential anti- arthritis plants. Further toxicity profile given in the review can be useful for the researchers for finding the safe dose.

Medicinal plants with potential anti-arthritic activity:

Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiarthritic potential of Moringa oleifera Lam: An ethnomedicinal plant of Moringaceae family

The traditional use of plants to manage candidiasis and related infections in Venda, South Africa

Lysosomes perform a range of functions, some of which, such as degradation, are common to all cell types. Others, such as secretion or lysosomal exocytosis, are more specialised and tend to involve fusion of this organelle with the cell surface to release its contents. This review describes lysosomal regulation of the inflammatory glucocorticoid signaling pathways, and summarizes the roles of lysosomes in negatively or positively modulating the production of inflammatory cytokines. We also review the characteristic changes in lysosomal hydrolases and membrane proteins in common autoimmune diseases. Finally, future directions in lysosome research are proposed, with it being suggested that the role of lysosomes will continue to be of growing interest in immunity research.

The Roles of Lysosomes in Inflammation and Autoimmune Diseases

Strychnos potatorum Linn (Loganiaceae) is a moderate sized tree found in southern and central parts of India, Sri Lanka and Burma. In traditional system of medicine, Strychnos potatorum Linn seeds were used for various ailments including inflammation, diabetes etc. To investigate the folkloric use of the seeds the present study was carried out on Freund's adjuvant induced arthritic rats. The present study states the effect of the aqueous extract (SPE) and the whole seed powder (SPP) of Strychnos potatorum Linn seeds on the Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) induced arthritic rat paw edema, body weight changes and alterations in haematological and biochemical parameters in both developing and developed phases of arthritis. Histopathology of proximal interphalangeal joints and radiology of hind legs were studied. In FCA induced arthritic rats, there was significant increase in rat paw volume and decrease in body weight increment, whereas SPP and SPE treated groups, showed significant reduction in paw volume and normal gain in body weight. The altered haematological parameters (Hb, RBC, WBC and ESR) and biochemical parameters (blood urea, serum creatinine, total proteins and acute phase proteins) in the arthritic rats were significantly brought back to near normal by the SPP and SPE treatment at the dose of 200 mg/kg/p.o in both developing and developed phases of arthritis. Further the histopathological and radiological studies revealed the antiarthritic activity of SPP and SPE by indicating fewer abnormalities in these groups when compared to the arthritic control group. In conclusion, both SPP and SPE at the specified dose level of 200 mg/kg, p.o. showed reduction in rat paw edema volume and it could significantly normalize the haematological and biochemical abnormalities in adjuvant induced arthritic rats in both developing and developed phases of FCA induced arthritis. Further the histopathological and radiological studies confirmed the antiarthritic activity of SPP and SPE.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186%2F1472-6882-10-56.pdf

Evaluation of antiarthritic activity of Strychnos potatorum Linn seeds in Freund's adjuvant induced arthritic rat model

The Indian system of medicine provides Strychnos potatorum Linn. seeds for the treatment of various ailments like jaundice, bronchitis, diabetes, renal and vesicle calculi, conjunctivitis, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery etc. The present study involves the effect of crude powder (SPP) and aqueous extract (SPE) of S. potatorum Linn seeds on in vivo antioxidant defense system against Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA) induced arthritis in rats at the dose of 200 mg/kg/p.o for 14 and 28 days and in vitro antioxidant activity against Ferrous thiocyanate (FTC) and Thiobarbiturate (TBA) induced lipid peroxidation. The antioxidant defense system parameters studied in plasma and tissues of arthritic rats were found to be altered significantly. These alterations observed in arthritic rats may be due to the increased oxidative stress in the tissues, which were significantly reduced in SPP and SPE treated arthritic rats. The results reveal that, the drug treatment decreased the LPO levels in plasma and tissues, either by interception of the formation or by scavenging the active oxygen species. The raise in enzymic and nonenzymic antioxidants level may be due to the sparing effect of antioxidant defense system as the drugs SPP and SPE have scavenged the free radicals by various antioxidant phytochemicals like steroids, triterpenes and polyphenolics present in it either by individual or by combined action. In in vitro total antioxidant analysis by FTC and TBA methods, SPE was found to show higher antioxidant activity when compared with SPP.

	 

	Key words: Strychnos potatorum, enzymic and non-enzymic antioxidants, free radical scavenging, lipid peroxidation.

https://africaneditors.org/journal/JMPR/full-text-pdf/82747-128163

Assessment of the in-vivo and in-vitro antioxidant potential of Strychnos potatorum Linn. seeds in Freunds adjuvant induced arthritic rats

The effect of the aqueous extract (SPE) and powder (SPP) of S. potatorum seeds at the dose of 200 mg.kg−1 p.o. were studied in developing and developed stages of Freunds adjuvant (0.1mL) induced arthritic rats for 14 and 28 days respectively. On day 29, the animals were sacrificed and serum and tissue samples were collected for estimation of lysosomal enzymes, glycoproteins and angular cartilage for collagen formation. In both stages of arthritis, the serum and tissue levels showed increased lysosomal enzymes and glycoproteins whereas decreased collagen content in the synovial tissues. SPP and SPE treatment to the arthritic rats normalized the lysosomal enzymes and glycoproteins and increased the collagen content, which may be due to its membrane-stabilizing action and suppression of the collagenases that destroys collagen and bone.

Venkataraman Subramanian

Papers

Evaluation of antiarthritic activity of Strychnos potatorum Linn seeds in Freund's adjuvant induced arthritic rat model

Assessment of the in-vivo and in-vitro antioxidant potential of Strychnos potatorum Linn. seeds in Freunds adjuvant induced arthritic rats

Strychnos potatorum Linn Seed Extract Enhances Lysosomal Membrane Stability and Collagen Formation in Freunds Complete Adjuvant-Induced Arthritic Rats