고려홍삼의 콜라겐 유도 관절염의 예방과 억제효과

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by joint inflammation and progressive cartilage and bone erosion. Korean red ginseng (KRG) has been shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the secretion of inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α, IL-1, -6, and -8, and IFN-γ. In this study, whether KRG extract has an inhibitory effect on the collagen-inducible development of arthritis in DBA/1J mice was investigated. To induce arthritis, type Ⅱ collagen emulsified in Complete Freund’s Adjuvant was intradermally injected into the base of the tails of mice. Three weeks after the initial injection, a booster injection of type Ⅱ collagen emulsified in Incomplete Freund’s Adjuvant was administered. The oral administration of KRG extract for 8~10 weeks at the dose of 300 mg/kg (three days a week) inhibited the development of arthritis in the experimental group, compared to the control group which was given saline. While the administration of KRG extract three times a week demonstrated both preventive and inhibitory effects, the administration of KRG extract once a week had little inhibitory effect. In other studies, the regimen of KRG administration has been shown to decrease the plasma level of inflammatory cytokines like IL-8 and TNF-α, but the plasma levels of these cytokines were not decreased in the present study. The results of the present study suggest that KRG has preventive and inhibitory effects on collagen-induced arthritis.