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Anti-rheumatoid arthritis potential of Halodule pinifolia: development, characterization and in vivo evaluation of H. pinifolia-based oral suspension and lipid nano-emulsion

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Abstract

For treating chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, herbal medicines are preferred due to their evident therapeutic effects and lesser side effects as compared to the long-term used conventional drugs. In this study, the anti-rheumatoid arthritis effect of an unexplored marine grass Halodule pinifolia (HP), and a combination of it with Glycyrrhiza glabra (liquorice; LQ), prepared as a conventional suspension (C1) and a lipid nano-emulsion (C1-N) was evaluated in Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA)- and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) models. Formulations C1 and C1-N contained standardized extract HP (100 mg/kg) as major active ingredient and liquorice LQ (50 mg/kg) as both active ingredient (anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer) and sweetening agent. Oral administration of HP and C1 to FCA-induced Sprague–Dawley rats significantly reduced the paw oedema, spleen index, controlled the haematological parameters, cytokine levels (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α estimated by ELISA), mRNA expression of cytokines and osteoclast markers (RANK, TRAP and cathepsin K measured by RTPCR). Histopathology and radiological scanning demonstrated lesser joint deterioration in sample-treated rats, as evident phenotypically. The downregulation of CD51 and MMP-3 (western blot) corroborated the anti-arthritic effect of HP and C1. HP showed better results among all. Further, under the CIA model, both C1 and C1-N were found to be potentially active as evidenced by their effect on rat paw oedema, spleen index, haematological parameters, rheumatoid factor, cytokines, osteoclast markers, histology and X-rays. The results proved the anti-arthritic effect of HP and the formulations, particularly the lipid nano-emulsion that showed improved stability as well as activity.

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Acknowledgements

Authors acknowledge Dr. K. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Assistant Professor & Head, Department of Surgery and Radiology, College of Veterinary Science, Korutla, Hyderabad, Telangana, India for his support in radiological data interpretation.

Funding

Authors acknowledge the financial support received from the Department of Science and Technology, Science and Engineering Research Board, New Delhi, India [CRG/2020/002693], Indian Council for Medical Research, New Delhi, India [3/1/2(22)CD/2019-NCD-II] and BITS-Pilani Hyderabad Campus.

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  1. Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani Hyderabad Campus, Jawahar Nagar, Kapra Mandal, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500078, India

    Samun Nessa, S. Lavanya, Akash Chaurasiya, Onkar P. Kulkarni & A. Sajeli Begum

  2. Department of Periodontics, Army College of Dental Sciences, Secunderabad, Telangana, 500087, India

    Rajesh K. Routray

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  1. Samun Nessa
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  2. S. Lavanya
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  3. Rajesh K. Routray
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Contributions

ASB: Conceptualization, supervision and project administration. ASB, OPK and AC: Design of experiments, data analysis and manuscript review. SN, SL and KRR: Experiments, analysis of samples, data analysis and literature survey. ASB and SN: Manuscript writing, review and editing.

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Correspondence to A. Sajeli Begum.

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All animal experiment protocols were approved by the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee of BITS-Pilani Hyderabad Campus (BITS-Hyd/IAEC/2019/29).

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Nessa, S., Lavanya, S., Routray, R.K. et al. Anti-rheumatoid arthritis potential of Halodule pinifolia: development, characterization and in vivo evaluation of H. pinifolia-based oral suspension and lipid nano-emulsion. Inflammopharmacol 32, 1203–1223 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10787-024-01431-0

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