• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.87-96
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• 2009

Objectives : This study was designed to investigate the effects of extruded Acanthopanax Folium extracts on Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) induced arthritis of rats. Methods： To induce arthritis in the ankle joint of rats, CFA was injected in the proximal part of the tail subcutaneously. After CFA injection, arthritic conditions were examined with macrography. The volume of paw edema and thickness of the ankle joints were checked regularly within 20 days. At 20 days, histopathological examination was performed on the ankle joint. Inflammation levels were determined by total WBC counts and differential WBC counts using a blood analyzer. Tumor necrosis factor-$\alpha$ and interleukin-1$\beta$ concentration in paw exudate were measured by ELISA method. Results： Several arthritic conditions induced by CFA were alleviated by Acanthopanax Folium treatment. Morphologically, reduction of arthritic conditions were observed and the volume of paw edema and thickness of the ankle joints were significantly decreased. Additionally, cytokines in paw exudate were diminished and histopathological improvement was observed. Conclusions： This study showed that the extruded Acanthopanax Folium extracts have the beneficial effects on the CFA induced arthritis of rats and might be used for chronic arthritis patients.