Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2013 Mar 7;146(1):355-62. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2013.01.004. Epub 2013 Jan 18.
Radix Toddaliae Asiaticae (RTA), also named "Sanbaibang", is the dry root bark of Toddalia asiatica (L.) Lam. and has long been used as a traditional ethnic Chinese medicine for its considerable activity to alleviate pain and inflammation for patients suffering from rheumatism. It contains coumarin, alkaloids, triterpenes and volatile oils. Information regarding the anti-arthritis activity of RTA in vivo or in vitro is limited yet. In the present study, the aim is to investigate the therapeutic potential and underlying mechanisms of the ethyl alcohol extract (EtOH) and ethyl acetate fraction (EtOAc) from RTA on collagen II-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice.
CIA animal model was performed by subcutaneous injection of type II bovine collagen (CII) on the 1st day and the 14th day of the experiment. Ethyl alcohol extract (542.8, 271.4, 135.7 mg/kg), ethyl acetate fraction (260.8, 130.4, 65.2 mg/kg) was orally administrated from the second antigen immunization for 3 weeks. Progression of edema of paws and knee joints was measured using a vernier caliper every 3 days from the 10th day after the first injection to the end of the experiment. The spleen index was measured and the knee joint changes were observed by pathological sections. ELISA was used to measure cytokines including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in mice serum according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Administration of ethyl alcohol extract and ethyl acetate fraction remarkably reduced paws and joints swelling and decreased the spleen indexes. Histopathological examination demonstrated that RTA effectively protected bone and cartilage of knee joint from erosion, lesion and deformation versus those from the control group. Besides, the concentration of cytokines like TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 were significantly lower than the ones from the control group respectively, while cytokine like IL-10 was remarkably higher compare with the control group.
In this present study, it is demonstrated that administration of RTA has potential and therapeutic effect on CIA. The data suggests that RTA could have a contributory ethno-pharmacological role in improved management of RA patients.
山乌龟（Radix Toddaliae Asiaticae，RTA），又名“三白帮”，是山乌龟（Toddalia asiatica（L.）Lam.）的干燥根皮，长期以来一直被用作一种传统的中药，因其对缓解风湿患者的疼痛和炎症具有显著的作用。它含有香豆素、生物碱、三萜和挥发油。然而，关于 RTA 在体内或体外的抗关节炎活性的信息有限。在本研究中，目的是研究山乌龟的乙醇提取物（EtOH）和乙酸乙酯部分（EtOAc）对胶原诱导性关节炎（CIA）小鼠的治疗潜力及其潜在机制。
通过在实验的第 1 天和第 14 天皮下注射 II 型牛胶原（CII）来建立 CIA 动物模型。从第二次抗原免疫开始，每天口服给予乙醇提取物（542.8、271.4、135.7 mg/kg）和乙酸乙酯部分（260.8、130.4、65.2 mg/kg），共 3 周。从第一次注射后的第 10 天到实验结束，每隔 3 天用游标卡尺测量爪子和膝关节的肿胀进展情况。测量脾脏指数，并通过病理切片观察膝关节变化。根据制造商的说明，使用 ELISA 法测量小鼠血清中的细胞因子，包括肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、白细胞介素-1β（IL-1β）、白细胞介素-6（IL-6）和白细胞介素-10（IL-10）。
乙醇提取物和乙酸乙酯部分的给药显著减轻了爪子和关节肿胀，并降低了脾脏指数。组织病理学检查表明，RTA 有效地保护了膝关节的骨和软骨免受侵蚀、损伤和变形，而对照组则没有。此外，TNF-α、IL-1β、IL-6 等细胞因子的浓度明显低于对照组，而细胞因子 IL-10 则明显高于对照组。
在本研究中，证明了 RTA 对 CIA 具有潜在的治疗作用。数据表明，RTA 在改善 RA 患者的管理方面可能具有民族药理学作用。
