THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF BELLAMYA BENGALENSIS LAMARCK BY INHIBITION OF OXIDATIVE STRESS IN EXPERIMENTAL ARTHRITIC MODEL

Objective: Oxidative stress and generation of free radicals leads to several chronic inflammatory diseases like arthritis, diabetes mellitus, cancer, etc. Arthritis is an immune-mediated systemic disorder known to impair the quality of life. In spite of development of drug discovery, therapeutic targeting of arthritis is still not satisfactory. Bellamya bengalensis has been long known for used in ailments like arthritis, asthma, conjunctivitis in traditional medicine. There are very few studies for clarification of scientific understanding of these therapies. In the present study, a purified fraction of Bellamya bengalensis mass (PBB) was assessed for oxidative stress in arthritis in Wistar rats. Methods: Arthritis was induced by 0.1 ml of Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA) in the left hind paw of Wistar rats. After that, PBB was administered orally at 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg doses for consecutive 28 days. A thorough investigation of serum and tissue parameters, including autopsied histopathological analysis, related to systemic dysfunction due to oxidative stress during arthritis were evaluated at the end of the study. Results: FCA generates a cascade of free radicals, oxidative stress, and also causes alteration of serum parameters and various biomarkers indicating systemic damage. The purified extract of Bellamya bengalensis (PBB) exhibited dose-dependent significant anti-arthritic and antioxidant activities and restoration of biomarkers to near normal levels. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the therapeutic effect of Bellamya bengalensis Lamarck in FCA induced arthritic model. This might be mediated controlling the signaling pathways for the formation of reactive oxygen species followed by cellular damage.