Abstract
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is the most frequent form of autoimmune arthritis, with a global prevalence of 0.3%–1% according to the World Health Organization. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of Moringa peregrina leaves and seed oil on RA and other inflammations in male Wistar albino rats. Method: We equally divided 25 rats into five groups. One was the nonarthritic (control) group, which comprised randomly selected rats. The four other groups were injected with 0.1 ml of Complete Freund’s Adjuvant with 10 mg/ml concentration of heat-killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis once intradermally in the right paw. These four groups were randomly categorized as follows: Arth group, arthritic group; ML group, administered with 0.5 g of Moringa leaves; MO group, administered with 1 ml of Moringa seed oil; and MLO group, administered with combined Moringa leaves and Moringa seed oil. In the biochemical measurements of the blood, we included the rheumatoid factor (RF), proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1α, IL-12P70, IL-17A, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α), and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, Il-13, and IL10). Results: The Arth group had higher RF levels than the nonarthritic group; after treatment, which referred to the MO, MLO, and ML groups, the RF level decreased. Moreover, the Arth group had higher proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α) than the nonarthritic group. After treatment, the IL-6 and IL-1β levels in the treatment groups declined. Furthermore, the TNF-α level significantly decreased in all treatment groups. Conversely, the treatment groups had significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) anti-inflammatory cytokine levels (IL-4, IL-10) than the Arth group. Both the IL-4 and IL-10 levels significantly (both: p ≤ 0.05) increased in the MO group followed by the ML group and the MLO group. In conclusion, the M. peregrina leaves and seed oil can positively enhance anti-inflammatory activities. Moreover, the M. peregrina oil has significant antiarthritic and anti-inflammatory effects. However, further studies are needed to clarify the effective components of M. peregrina leaves and oil responsible for the antiarthritic and anti-inflammatory activities.