Effects of Alcohol Extract of Giantleaf Ardisia Rhizome on Levels of Inflammatory Factors in Serum of Rats with Adjuvant Arthritis

[Objectives]The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of ethanol extract of Giantleaf Ardisia Rhizome on the serum levels of interleukin 6(IL-6),tumor necrosis factorα(TNF-α)and interleukin-1β(IL-1β)in adjuvant arthritis(AA)rats induced by Freund’s complete adjuvant(CFA),so as to investigate its role in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.[Methods]Rat models of AA were induced by CFA,and they were given with different doses of ethanol extract of Giantleaf Ardisia Rhizome,followed by scoring of systemic and joint inflammation and swelling degree and determination of serum IL-6,TNF-αand IL-1βlevels.[Results]Compared with the model group,the ethanol extract of Giantleaf Ardisia Rhizome significantly reduced the scores of systemic and joint inflammation and swelling degree and the serum levels of IL-6,TNF-αand IL-1βin AA rats(P<0.05,P<0.01).[Conclusions]The ethanol extract of Giantleaf Ardisia Rhizome can suppress the development of AA in rats and the mechanism may be related to the down-regulation of the expression of serum inflammatory factors(IL-6,TNF-α,IL-1β).