TAGRA 2024

Osteoarthritis affects millions of people globally. There are multiple factors contributing towards the onset and progression of this condition. Anti-inflammatory drugs prove to be beneficial in providing relief to the patients. However these drugs have their own side effects and cause adverse effects. Alternative and traditional medicines have provided some breakthrough as therapeutic approach for these chronic conditions. Unani system of medicine is based on the traditional medicines approach brought to India by Arabs who developed this system of medicine adapting the knowledge from Greek literature. This medicine system has evolved as a reliable approach and accepted since centuries. In this study we have characterised the health promoting benefits of several plants which have been used for treatment of osteoarthritis. We have analyzed the phytochemical composition, antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory potential of different extracts of these plants. Some plants showed the presence of high amount of phenolics and flavonoids. A few of them had very high antioxidant potential. A formulation was prepared using a prescribed mixture of these plants and its toxicity was analyzed using wistar rats as per the OECD guidelines. The anti-inflammatory potential was also analyzed for the aqueous formulation which showed suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and increased amount of anti-inflammatory cytokines in the serum sample of rats. Further characterization will reveal the generation expression of these cytokines.