Anti-arthritic and antioxidant activity of leaves of Alstonia scholaris Linn. R.Br.

Aim of the study: Alstonia scholaris (Family: Apocynaceae) is a medicinal plant which is indicated for the treatment of various diseases including arthritis in folklore medicine. The purpose of this study is to investigate the antiarthritic activity and in vivo antioxidant role of A. scholaris leaves in animal models. Materials and methods: The ethanol extract of A. scholaris leaves (EEAS) was tested against Freund's Complete Adjuvant (FCA) induced arthritic rats. Arthritis assessment and body weight were measured daily till day 28 whereas nociceptive threshold was measured once in 2 days. On day 28, the animals were anaesthetized, synovial fluid withdrawn and leukocyte concentration was determined. The animals were sacrificed, synovial tissue was extracted and estimated for the myeloperoxide, malonaldehyde, glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase. Effect of EEAS on ethanol and sodium salicylate induced gastropathy was also studied. Results: EEAS significantly decreased the arthritis which was evident with arthritis index, body weight and leukocyte infiltration. EEAS significantly reduced gastric lesion indices and gastric juice secretion. It also significantly decreased the levels of lipid peroxidation and myeloperoxide in the articular tissue, whereas it significantly increased the antioxidant enzymes glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase. Conclusion: The present study is suggestive that EEAS has prominent antiarthritic activity which may be attributed to its analgesic, anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressant and antioxidant activities. (C) 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.