title: Beneficial effects of rosmarinic acid on suppression of collagen induced arthritis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the therapeutic potential of rosmarinic acid (RosA) in an inflammatory autoimmune arthritis model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Collagen induced arthritis is established in male DBA/1 mice. Mice were administered daily with 50 mg/kg/day of RosA for 15 days from Day 21 post-immunization and inspected daily to determine the progression of arthritis. After termination of injection, affected hindpaws were subjected to histopathological analyses and immunohistochemical assays for cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Repeated administration of RosA dramatically reduced the arthritic index and number of affected paws. Histopathologic observations closely paralleled clinical data, showing that RosA treated mice retained nearly normal architecture of synovial tissues, whereas control mice exhibited severe synovitis. Synovial tissues from RosA treated mice exhibited remarkably reduced frequency of COX-2-expressing cells, compared to those from untreated mice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RosA suppressed synovitis in a murine collagen induced arthritis model; this effect may be beneficial for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in clinical settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and Institute of Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jeehee
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Youn
authors.forename: Kyung-Hee
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jonghwa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Won
authors.forename: Sung-Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.forename: Hye-Sun
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Won-Gil
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Doo-Jin
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Paik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D002934:Cinnamates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D053630:Depsides; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D007596:Joints / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000378:metabolism; D000097123:Rosmarinic Acid
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D002934:Cinnamates; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D053630:Depsides; D007527:Isoenzymes; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; D000097123:Rosmarinic Acid