Beneficial effects of rosmarinic acid on suppression of collagen induced arthritis.
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.
Youn
Jeehee
J
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and Institute of Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
Lee
Kyung-Hee
KH
Won
Jonghwa
J
Huh
Sung-Jin
SJ
Yun
Hye-Sun
HS
Cho
Won-Gil
WG
Paik
Doo-Jin
DJ
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
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D002934:Cinnamates; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D053630:Depsides; D007527:Isoenzymes; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; D000097123:Rosmarinic Acid