ABSTRACT
Aim The relationship between the therapeutic effect of TEA (total extract of astragalosides) on adjuvant arthritic (AA) rats and its antioxidative effects were studied . Methods The volume of non-injected hind paw of AA rats and malondialdehyde(MAD) content of arthritic synoviocytes from AA rats were measured and the proliferative responses of fibroblast, the level of superoxide anion() and the hydroxyl radical (?OH) generated in vitro were detected . Results The anti-inflammatory effect of TEA might be related to its antioxidative activity.In vitro low-level oxidative stress promoted the proliferative responses of fibroblast in rats synovium, which was marked by inhibited by TEA in a concentration-dependant manner. Further study showed that TEA could inhibit NBT reduction induced by both xanthine-xanthine oxidase and non-enzyme generated , but the inhibitory effect of this compound on activity of xanthine oxidase was obtained only at high concentration (more than 80 ?g?ml-1). It was also found that TEA could dose-dependantly inhibit the hydroxylation of benzoic acid induced by Fenton reaction generated ?OH. Conclusion TEA has significant therapeutic effects on AA rats, which might be related to its antioxidative effects