In vivo, In vitro anti-arthritic studies of Ellagic acid from Kirganelia reticulata Baill and its molecular docking.

ABSTRACT

Kirganelia reticulata is a useful shrub having various medicinal properties. In vivo, in vitro and in silico antiarthritic activity of a phytoconstituent, ellagic acid (EA) isolated from the leaves of K. reticulata was screened. EA is a naturally occurring plant polyphenol found at high concentrations that act as potential protectors against variety of human diseases. Formaldehyde induced paw edema, assumed to be one of the most suitable test procedures to screen chronic anti-inflammatory agents as it closely resembles human arthritis, and was employed for this study. The course of treatment was followed for over and 4 weeks post inoculation period using health, clinical and behavioural methods of study. Estimation of change in body weight was considered as health parameters and clinical observations included paw edema volume, change in the movements was studied in behavioural observations. The effect of EA was compared with standard drug aspirin. Various in vitro models such as inhibition of protein denaturation, effect of membrane stabilization and proteinase inhibitory actions were studied. EA with two different concentrations (100 μg/ml and 250 μg/ml) was used and results were compared with acetyl salicylic acid. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-2α) promotes degradative pathways that foster osteoarthritis. The inhibitory effect of EA was studied using automated docking and efficiency was compared with standard drug in terms of interaction and binding. The isolated compound EA showed anti-arthritic activity which was found to be significant to that of the standard drugs and supports the traditional use of plant for rheumatism.