Anti-Arthritic Activity of Plant AcalyphaIndica Extract

AcalyphaIndica is a species of plant having catkin type of inflorescence. It occurs throughout tropical Africa and South Africa, in India and Sri Lanka, as well as in Yemen and Pakistan.¹ This plant is held in high esteem in traditional Tamil Siddha medicine as it is believed to rejuvenate the body. Pharmacological investigation has shown that the plant has potent anti-bacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-osteoporotic, anti-oxidant, neuro protective, wound healing, postcoital antifertility activities. The present review article attempt to summarize the anti-arthritic activity of the plant². Anti-arthritic activity evaluation of different plant extracts against Mycobacterium induced developed arthritis was carried out. The results showed moderate to marked inhibitory effect against different extracts. The extract M-P06A001 showed an inhibition of 17.85% paw swelling in injected paw and 33.53% paw swelling in un-injected paw.M-P06-A001 showed an inhibition of 41.96% paw swelling in the injected paw and 39.63% paw swelling in un-injected paw. Standard drug Ibuprofen administered at 100mg/kg body weight produced inhibition of 49.10% paw swelling in injected paw and 43.90% swelling in un-injected paw. Both plant showed inhibitory effect on elevated alkaline phosphatase³.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by articular inflammation that eventually leads to the destruction of joints⁴. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that affects approximately 1% of the population. Prevalence of RA increases with age, approaching 5% in women over the age of 55. The incidence and prevalence of RA is 2-3 times greater in women than in men. Effective treatment of RA has been impeded by a paucity of accurate diagnostic and prognostic tests, owing in part to the heterogeneity of the disease. The present work is aimed to evaluate the anti-arthritic effect of plant Acalypha Indica extract by Mycobacterium induced arthritis in rats. The extracts showed inhibition in paw swelling in injected as well as un-injected paw which was compared with the standard drug ibuprofen. Both the plant extract showed inhibitory effect on elevated alkaline phosphatase level.⁵

Author(s): Mathew George, Lincy Joseph, Kamal Singh Vyas and Saira Susan Varghese

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