Design and development of an herbal anti-arthritic gel incorporating Alstonia scholaris latex

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease leading to bone and joint damage. The current study reports the development of an herbal anti-arthritic gel formulation incorporating the latex of Alstonia scholaris (AS). Six batches of topical herbal gels (G1-G6) were formulated by dispersion method using different concentrations of AS latex (0.5 % to 3.0 % w/w) in Carbopol 934 (1.5% w/w) gel base. The gels were evaluated for various physicochemical properties using standard methods and G4 was selected as an optimized formulation based on the desirable properties of a topical gel. The in vivo anti-arthritic potential of G4 was evaluated using a complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritic rat (Sprague Dawley) model for 28 days. Assessment of various arthritic parameters including hematological and biochemical parameters and radiography of hind legs in arthritic rats was carried out. The developed herbal gels were found to be uniform and stable. The G4 gel formulation showed a maximum drug release of 95.22% following Higuchi kinetic model. The topical application of G4 gel exhibited significant (p<0.05) anti-arthritic activity compared to diseased rats. The herbal gel G4 effectively restored the arthritic, hematological and biochemical parameters in arthritic rats. Radiographic analysis demonstrated its ability to reduce soft tissue swelling and thus prevented bone degeneration and the narrowing of joint spaces. These results supported that the developed herbal gel may offer a novel therapeutic approach in the treatment of RA with fewer side effects, good patient compliance, high efficacy, and low cost.