Protective Effect of Gentianine, a compound from Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang, against Freund's Complete Adjuvant-Induced Arthritis in Rats.

The anti-inflammatory property of gentianine (GE) aroused our interest. To investigate the effect of GE on Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA)-induced arthritis in rats was the aim of this study. Adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) was induced by the administration of 0.1 ml FCA in the surface of hind paw. Diclofenac sodium (DS) and Fasudil were administered as positive controls. Downregulation of cytokines including interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) revealed anti-inflammatory effect of GE, which was consisted with pathological conditions of rat paws. In addition, western blot analysis revealed that GE could strikingly suppressed the expressions of Rho/NF-κB signaling pathways as well as TGF-β/smad-3 pathways. In conclusion, data indicated that GE might contribute to treat arthritis as a potential therapeutic candidate.