The Effects of Red Betel (Piper crocatum) Leaf Extract to Decreasing Profile Population of CD4+ and CD8+ Cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis-Induced Mice

Abstract

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is one of the autoimmune diseases resulted by oxidative stress. Red betel leaves (Piper crocatum) with a high content of flavonoid are expected to function as antioxidant and to reduce inflammation. This research aimed to identify the effects of red betel leaf extract on the amount of the CD4+ and CD8+ cells. 24 male Swiss mice, aged eight 8 weeks, with the weight of 27±3 g. 20 mice induced-RA were made by injecting 0.01 mL Complete Freund’s Adjuvant (CFA) by intraperitoneal; after seven days, they were then boostered by injecting 0.03 mL of Incomplete Freund’s Adjuvant (IFA) into the forelimbs. The animals were divided into six groups: normal, RA (C-), RA+aspirin (C+), RA+red betel leaf extract 100 mg/kg BW (T1), RA+red betel leaf extract 200 mg/kg BW (T2), and RA+leaf extract red betel nut 400 mg/kg BW (T3). The animals were given treatment for 21 days. At the end of the treatment, the mice were sacrificed, and the removed lymphocyte cells were isolated to measure the number of the CD4+ and CD8+ using Flow-cytometry. The results of this research showed that red betel leaf extract was significantly different to decreasing the amount of the CD4+ cells, but it was not significantly different to reducing the amount of CD8+ cells. The effective dosage in this research was 200 mg/kg BW.