Background:

As a traditional herbal medicine, Clematis henryi Oliv. has been widely used in China for hundreds of years for the treatment of infectious and inflammatory disorders. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease lacks of effective therapeutic drugs.

Objective:

To investigate the anti-arthritic activity of total saponins extracted from Clematis henryi Oliv. (TSC) and the underlying mechanisms in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rats.

Methods:

The purified TSC were administrated to CIA rats at the dose of 150 and 50 mg/kg/d. Paw volume and claw pad thickness were measured every week. The levels of IgG, IL-1β, and TNF-α in serum were measured by ELISA kit, and histopathology of joint was examined by H&E staining.

Results:

Administration of TSC resulted in a significant decrease of paw volume and thickness in CIA rats. TSC also suppressed IgG, IL-1β, and TNF-α levels in serum of CIA rats. Histology revealed that TSC significantly inhibited joint inflammatory cells infiltration and reduced synovial hyperplasia.

Conclusion:

TSC have an anti-arthritic effect on CIA rats, and this effect is probably associated with downregulating the expression of inflammatory factors.