Dehydrozingerone Alleviates Hyperalgesia, Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Factors in Complete Freund’s Adjuvant-Induced Arthritic Rats

PURPOSE: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease with severe inflammatory responses. Dehydrozingerone (DHZ) is a potent bioactive compound found in the rhizomes of Zingiber officinale, and it has been reported as an excellent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent. This study evaluated the anti-arthritic effects of DHZ in complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritis. METHODS: CFA administered rats were intragastrically treated with DHZ (100 mg/kg) for 28 days, and arthritis severity was assessed via body weight, arthritic score, paw edema and hyperalgesia. Serum inflammation biomarkers, oxidative stress markers, inflammatory cytokines and liver function enzymes were evaluated. RESULTS: The results indicated that DHZ significantly ameliorated arthritis severity as shown by reduced arthritic score, thymus and spleen indexes, paw circumference, paw withdrawal threshold and latency as well as increased body weight gain. Furthermore, DHZ treatment persuasively reduced serum levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), rheumatoid factor (RF), C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1β and 6 (IL-1β and IL-6), malondialdehyde (MDA), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β). In addition, DHZ observably increased serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) levels in treated rats. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that DHZ possesses anti-RA effect properties via modulating the inflammatory responses and oxidative stress.