title: Effect of γ-tocotrienol in counteracting oxidative stress and joint damage in collagen-induced arthritis in rats.
abstract: Tocotrienols exhibit a significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect in numerous human diseases. However, the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of tocotrienols in arthritic conditions are not well documented. Therefore, the effect of γ-tocotrienol supplementation against oxidative stress and joint pathology in collagen-induced arthritis in rats was investigated in the present study. Adult female Dark Agouti rats were randomly divided into groups: Control, γ-tocotrienol alone, arthritis alone and arthritis with γ-tocotrienol. Arthritis was induced using 4 mg/kg body weight collagen in complete Freund's adjuvant. The rats were treated orally with 5 mg/kg body weight of γ-tocotrienol between day 21 and day 45. After 45 days, serum C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total glutathione (GSH) assays were conducted. γ-tocotrienol significantly reduced the arthritis-induced changes in body weight, CRP, TNF-α, SOD and the total GSH levels. There was a significant reduction in the arthritis-induced histopathological changes in the γ-tocotrienol treatment group. The data indicated that administration of γ-tocotrienol resulted in a significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect on collagen-induced arthritis; therefore, γ-tocotrienol may have therapeutic potential as a long-term anti-arthritic agent in rheumatoid arthritis therapy.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Ammu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radhakrishnan
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Dulanthi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tudawe
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Srikumar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chakravarthi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Gan Seng
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Chiew
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.
authors.forename: Nagaraja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Haleagrahara
keywords: oxidative stress; rheumatoid arthritis; tocotrienols; tumor necrosis factor