title: Artesunate Ameliorates Functional Limitations in Freund's Complete Adjuvant-Induced Monoarthritis in Rat by Maintaining Oxidative Homeostasis and Inhibiting COX-2 Expression.
abstract: Drugs exhibiting anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties have been clinically used in the management of pain and impairment of joint functions in arthritis. In view of available studies on the beneficial effect of artesunate in various inflammatory conditions, the present study was carried out to evaluate its efficacy in ameliorating functional limitations of arthritis and to understand the underlying mechanisms. The study was carried out in rat model of Freund's complete adjuvant-induced monoarthritis where artesunate was found to produce a dose-dependent reduction in joint inflammation, improvement in functional parameters like stair climbing ability, motility, and suppression of mechanical allodynia at the doses of 50 and 150 mg/kg. Our study shows that protection afforded by artesunate was brought about by decreasing the levels of nitric oxide, influx of neutrophils, maintenance of oxidative homeostasis, inhibition of COX-2 expression, and apoptosis. Further, histological analysis of the arthritic joints also substantiated the anti-inflammatory property of artesunate. Thus, our study shows that artesunate has a potential for use in the treatment of arthritis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, 110 029, India.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Guruprasad
authors.forename: Priyanka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chaudhary
authors.forename: Tenzin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Choedon
authors.forename: Vijay L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics; D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D037621:Artemisinins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077332:Artesunate; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy*; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004008:Diclofenac / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005620:Freund's Adjuvant; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000188:drug therapy; D007249:Inflammation / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy; D007596:Joints / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D020556:Neutrophil Infiltration / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010936:Plant Extracts; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D037621:Artemisinins; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D010936:Plant Extracts; D004008:Diclofenac; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D000077332:Artesunate; D005620:Freund's Adjuvant; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C489691:Ptgs2 protein, rat