Evaluation of anti-arthritic activity of Caesalpinia pulcherrima in freund’s complete adjuvant induced arthritic rat model

Objective: To investigate the anti-arthritic activity of ethanolic extract of Caesalpinia pulcherrima (ECP) in adjuvant arthritic (AA) rat model induced by Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA). Methods: Thirty healthy albino rats were selected and randomly divided into five groups. Arthritis was induced by Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA) and then treated with ethanolic extract of Caesalpinia pulcherrima for 28 days. The various parameters like paw volume, haematological parameters (RBC, WBC, Hb and ESR), and radiological studies were assessed. Results: In FCA induced arthritic rats, there was significant increase in rat paw volume whereas both doses of ECP treated groups showed strong significant reduction in paw volume. The altered haematological parameters in the arthritic rats were significantly recovered to near normal by the treatment with ECP at the dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg. Further radiological studies revealed the anti-arthritic activity of ECP by preventing cartilage and bone destruction of the arthritic joints of AA rats. Conclusion: ECP has shown anti-arthritic activity with a significant decrease in paw volume and it could significantly normalize the haematological abnormalities in adjuvant induced arthritic rats. Further radiological studies confirmed the anti-arthritic activity of ECP.