Prophylactic and therapeutic effects of prostaglandin E1 on the disease activity in adjuvant arthritic rats

ABSTRACT

The effect of oral prostagladin E[1] on the disease activity, histolpathological pattern of gastrointestinal tract and on serum cortisol level werestudied in rats rendered arthritic by intradermal inoculation of Freund's adjuvant In the arthritic rats PGE[1] 100ug/kg/day orally was given first day of adjuvant inoculation till full development of arthritis [28 days] i.e as a prophylactic agent or given after establishment of arthritis for 2 weeks i.e. as a therapeutic agent. It was found that the prophylactic or the therapeutic administration of PGE[1] significantly decreased the arthritic disease activity as evidenced by the reduced development of paw oedema, increased pain threshold and correction of biochemical inflammatory markers namely serum C-reactive protein and serum albumin. The histopathological examination revealed marked gastrointestinal trophic action of PGE[1] which was more pronounced in the stomach. Serum cortisol level was significantly raised in the groups treated with PGE[1] The present findings strongly suggest the prophylactic and therapeutic value, of oral PGE[1] and investigate some of the possible underlying mechanism for their action in rheumatic diseases. However, further studies are needed to confirm the efficacy and safety of PGE[1] in management of arthritis