Evalution of Anti-Arthritic Potential of Siddha Formulation ChanthirothayaMathirai on Freund‘s Adjuvant-Induced arthritis in Wistar rats

Abstract

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune, chronic multisystem disease with various systemic
manifestations resulting in joint damage and physical disability. The Siddha system of medicine is one of the
traditional system of Indian medicine, which comprises ennumber of siddha formulations for RA. The tablet
ChanthirothayaMathirai (CHTM), a herbomineral siddha formulation is found to be efficacious for RA. The
present study focuses on theevaluation of anti-arthritic potential of Siddha formulation CHTM on complete
Freund’s adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritis model. Materials and Methods: The animals were grouped into three.
Group I received normal saline, Group II received 0.1 ml of CFA in the left hind and treated with 250 mg/kg of
CHTM from day 1 to 21, and Group III received 0.1 ml of CFA into the left hind and treated with 500 mg/kg of
CHTM from day 1 to 21. The biochemical parameters were carried out on all groups after 21 days. The presence
of any adverse effects was also recorded throughout the study. Results: A significant increase in the paw volume
and thickness of CFA-injected paws compared to the normal control paws was observed. Arthritic assessment
scoring revealed that CFA-injected paws were with the maximum scoring of 3.8. The treatment with CHTM at
both doses has significantly decreased arthritic scoring to 2.3. Results showed marginal signs of rejuvenation with
mild cartilages destruction with restoring histology of synovium and bone morphology were observed in low-dose
drug-treated rats. High-dose drug-treated rats showed normal histomorphology of synovium. Conclusion: The
study concluded that the trial drug CHTM at the dose of 250 and 500 mg/kg showed a significant reduction in joint
swelling with a reversal in bone and tissue morphology. Thus, CHTM formulation offers a strong protective effect
against Freund’s complete adjuvant-induced paw edema in rats. Hence, the drug CHTM has been scientifically
validated for its anti-arthritic potential in management of RA.