Quercetin mitigates rheumatoid arthritis by inhibiting adenosine deaminase in rats

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory joint disease characterized by synovial proliferation and bone destruction. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is a key inflammatory enzyme that increases joint stiffness and pain in RA. In this study, we evaluated the in-silico, and in vivo inhibitory effect of quercetin isolated from Egyptian Fenugreek on ADA enzyme activity. We also determined the combinatorial effect of quercetin on methotrexate mediated anti-inflammatory efficacy and toxicity. In-silico molecular docking was conducted and confirmed in an in vivo RA rat model. The results showed that the inhibition constant of quercetin on joint ADA by docking and in-vitro was 61.9 and 55.5 mM, respectively. Therefore, quercetin exhibits anti-inflammatory effect in a rat RA model as evidenced by reducing the specific activity of ADA in joint tissues, lower jaw volume, enhance body weight, downregulate ADA gene expression, reduce levels of RA cytokines interleukin-1(β), interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, also, rheumatoid factor, C-reactive protein, and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide RA biomarker levels. These findings demonstrate that the purified quercetin has a promising anti-inflammatory effect against RA disease through its inhibitory effects on the ADA enzyme. Furthermore, isolated quercetin improved the anti-inflammatory efficacy of methotrexate, reduced its toxic effects by increasing antioxidant enzymes and reducing oxidative stress.