Abstract:
Ephedra, natural flora has been used traditionally to treat rheumatism since decades. The scientific evidence
of anti-rheumatic effect of this plant has also been reported. But the anti-rheumatic activity of major constituent of this
plant (ephedrine) has not been evaluated. Based on this, the current study was aimed to assess anti-arthritic activity of
ephedrine by using in vitro and in vivo approaches. Correspondingly, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was
performed for the estimation of prostaglandins E2 (PGE2) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in serum of
formaldehyde-induced arthritic animals. The results elaborated significant reduction in albumin denaturation and
remarkable progress on stabilization of red blood cells outer membrane at higher concentration during in vitro
experiments. The ephedrine (40mg/kg) revealed noteworthy (p<0.001) inhibition in paw swelling in animals intoxicated
with albumin as well as formaldehyde as compared to animals of control group by in vivo results. In this assay, ephedrine
(20 & 40 mg/kg orally) significantly suppressed the level of these inflammatory markers (PGE2 & TNF-α). Ephedrine
exhibited anti-arthritic effect by decreasing pro-inflammatory cytokines (PGE2 & TNF-α). This experimental work
pharmacologically supports the use of ephedrine as anti-rheumatic drug but limited to evaluate in immunological
arthritic model.
