Natural Antioxidants in the Pharmacological Treatment of Rheumatic Immune and Inflammatory Diseases

Abstract

Natural antioxidants, both supplements and diets, have long be advocated for the treatment of a wide range of serious diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and other inflammatory and immune diseases. Anyway, their therapeutic role has been questioned on the bases of their inefficacy or even for their detrimental effects [1]. Moreover, it is unrealistic to expect that natural antioxidants by themselves could solve the basic disease problem, since reactive oxygen species represent only one subset of a vast panorama of mediators involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory and rheumatic disorders. On the other hand, for the majority of the natural antioxidants, a long-term “curative” effect has been not proven and controlled clinical studies on these compounds are still lacking. This overview suggests that several encouraging evidence exists for some of the natural antioxidants reported as treatment of common rheumatic conditions, but it also highlights the relative paucity and/or incompleteness of these studies. Anyway, it is conceivable to argue that the association of standard therapies and natural products with antioxidant activity could better control inflammation in rheumatic pathologies and could constitute a valuable support for the patients.