TY - JOUR
T1 - Suppression of the onset and progression of collagen-induced arthritis in rats by QFGJS, a preparation from an anti-arthritic Chinese herbal formula
AU - Cai, Xiong
AU - Zhou, Hua
AU - Wong, Yuen Fan
AU - Xie, Ying
AU - Liu, Zhong Qiu
AU - JIANG, Zhi Hong
AU - BIAN, Zhaoxiang
AU - Xu, Hong Xi
AU - LIU, Liang
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. The authors wish to thank Profs. Biao Yan Du, Pei Xun Wang, and Liang Zhou of the Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (GUTCM) for his skillful assistance in histologic analysis and to thank Mr. Yong Huang and Mr. Yao Hua Huang of the First Affiliated Hospital of GUTCM for their assistance in radiologic analysis. We also thank Dr. Martha Dahlen for her excellent language editing of the manuscript.
PY - 2007/3/1
Y1 - 2007/3/1
N2 - QFGJS is an herbal preparation, and its pronounced effectiveness in treating adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) has been previously demonstrated. We herein aimed to confirm its anti-arthritic effect on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in rats. CIA was established in female Wistar rats with intradermal injection of type II bovine collagen at the base of the tail of animals. CIA rats were treated daily with oral administration of different doses of QFGJS beginning on the day of the induction of arthritis (day 0, the prophylactic treatment) or on the day after the onset of arthritis (day 13, the therapeutic treatment) until day 30. The results showed that prophylactic treatment with QFGJS significantly suppressed the onset of arthritis, and therapeutic treatment with QFGJS markedly reduced paw swelling and ESR levels even in the established CIA. Radiologic and histopathologic changes in the arthritic joints were also significantly reduced in the QFGJS-treated versus vehicle-treated rats. Moreover, the serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were markedly lowered in the QFGJS-treated rats. Hence, our studies demonstrate the quality, safety, and effectiveness of QFGJS as an anti-arthritic agent, which makes QFGJS a strong candidate for further clinical trials on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.
AB - QFGJS is an herbal preparation, and its pronounced effectiveness in treating adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) has been previously demonstrated. We herein aimed to confirm its anti-arthritic effect on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in rats. CIA was established in female Wistar rats with intradermal injection of type II bovine collagen at the base of the tail of animals. CIA rats were treated daily with oral administration of different doses of QFGJS beginning on the day of the induction of arthritis (day 0, the prophylactic treatment) or on the day after the onset of arthritis (day 13, the therapeutic treatment) until day 30. The results showed that prophylactic treatment with QFGJS significantly suppressed the onset of arthritis, and therapeutic treatment with QFGJS markedly reduced paw swelling and ESR levels even in the established CIA. Radiologic and histopathologic changes in the arthritic joints were also significantly reduced in the QFGJS-treated versus vehicle-treated rats. Moreover, the serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were markedly lowered in the QFGJS-treated rats. Hence, our studies demonstrate the quality, safety, and effectiveness of QFGJS as an anti-arthritic agent, which makes QFGJS a strong candidate for further clinical trials on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.
KW - Anti-arthritis
KW - Collagen-induced arthritis
KW - Herbal medicine
KW - Pro-inflammatory cytokines
KW - QFGJS
KW - Rheumatoid arthritis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33846817490&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jep.2006.09.008
DO - 10.1016/j.jep.2006.09.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 17049776
AN - SCOPUS:33846817490
SN - 0378-8741
VL - 110
SP - 39
EP - 48
JO - Journal of Ethnopharmacology
JF - Journal of Ethnopharmacology
IS - 1
ER -