Exploring the therapeutic potential of Trigonella foenumgraecum extract-loaded transferosomal gel in complete Freund’s adjuvant-induced rat models
Keywords:
Complete Freund’s adjuvant-induced rat models, rheumatoid arthritis, topical drug delivery system, transferosomal gel, Trigonella foenum-graecumAbstract
Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating autoimmune disorder that is characterized by inflammation and joint damage.
Objective: This study evaluated the antiarthritic activity of Trigonella foenum-graecum (TFG) transferosomal gel in a Freund’s adjuvant-induced arthritic rat model and compared it with diclofenac gel, a standard antiinflammatory drug.
Methods: Arthritis was induced in rats by injecting 0.1 mL (1 mg/mL) of complete Freund’s adjuvant suspension into the subplantar region of the left hind foot, and they were allowed to develop arthritis for 21 days.
Results: Arthritis induction led to a considerable increase in paw volume, which is indicative of inflammation. Treatment with both TFG-transferosomal gel and diclofenac gel substantially reduced the paw volume, thus demonstrating their anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, the TFG-transferosomal gel reduced the arthritic scores, indicating its potential to ameliorate arthritic symptoms. Both treatments improved locomotor activity, which suggests relief from pain-induced hypoactivity. Furthermore, biochemical analysis revealed that the TFG-transferosomal gel effectively reduced inflammatory enzyme activity and mediator levels, comparable to that of diclofenac gel.
Conclusion: These results demonstrate the anti-inflammatory efficacy of the TFG-transferosomal gel, thus highlighting its potential as a therapeutic option for managing arthritis-associated inflammation and symptoms. Further research is warranted to elucidate its mechanisms of action and assess its clinical utility
Downloads
References
Ding Q, Hu W, Wang R, Yang Q, Zhu M, Li M, et al. Signaling pathways in rheumatoid arthritis: implications for targeted therapy. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2023;8:68.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-023-01331-9
Guo Q, Wang Y, Xu D, Nossent J, Pavlos NJ, Xu J. Rheumatoid arthritis: pathological mechanisms and modern pharmacologic therapies. Bone Res 2018;6:15.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41413-018-0016-9
Srivastava S, Patel S, Daharwal SJ, Singh D, Singh M. Rheumatoid arthritis: an autoimmune disease prevalent in females. Res J Pharm Technol 2016;9:170-2.
https://doi.org/10.5958/0974-360X.2016.00030.5
Samuel SM, Pramod K, NBijin E, Ajithkumar KC, Jijith US. Herbal remedies for rheumatoid arthritis. Res J Pharmacogn Phytochem 2016;8:32-6.
https://doi.org/10.5958/0975-4385.2016.00007.8
Sweta, Chaudhary A, Pandit V, Ashawat MS, Kumar T. Rheumatoid arthritis, a laconic review to understand their basic concept and management process. Asian J Pharm Res. 2022;12:312-2.
https://doi.org/10.52711/2231-5691.2022.00051
Ahmad A, Alghamdi SS, Mahmood K, Afzal M. Fenugreek a multipurpose crop: Potentialities and improvements. Saudi J Biol Sci 2016;23:300-10.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.09.015
Bahmani M, Shirzad H, Mirhosseini M, Mesripour A, Rafieian-Kopaei M. A review on ethnobotanical and therapeutic uses of fenugreek (Trigonella foenumgraceum L). J Evid Based Complement Altern Med 2016;21:53-62.
https://doi.org/10.1177/2156587215583405
Faghfoori Z, Javadivala Z, Khalili Y, Malek Mahdavi A. Effects of Trigonella foenum graecum (fenugreek) on rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review. Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol 2023;45:626-34.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08923973.2023.2202298
Matharoo N, Mohd H, Michniak-Kohn B. Transferosomes as a transdermal drug delivery system: Dermal kinetics and recent developments. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2024; 16:e1918.
https://doi.org/10.1002/wnan.1918
Opatha SAT, Titapiwatanakun V, Boonpisutiinant K, Chutoprapat R. Preparation, characterization and permeation study of topical gel loaded with transfersomes containing Asiatic Acid. Molecules 2022;27:4865.
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27154865
Visuvanathan T, Than LTL, Stanslas J, Chew SY, Vellasamy S. Revisiting Trigonella foenum-graecum L.: pharmacology and therapeutic potentialities. Plants (Basel) 2022 ;11:1450.
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11111450
Malakar J, Sen SO, Nayak AK, Sen KK. Formulation, optimization and evaluation of transferosomal gel for transdermal insulin delivery. Saudi Pharm J 2012; 20:355-63.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsps.2012.02.001
Padma Prashanthini V, Sivaraman S, Kathirvelu P, Shanmugasundaram J, Subramanian V, Ramesh SS, et al. Transferosomal gel for transdermal delivery of insulin: Formulation development and ex vivo permeation study. Intell Pharm 2023;1:212-6.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipha.2023.07.001
Singh VS, Dhawale SC, Shakeel F, Faiyazuddin M, Alshehri S. Antiarthritic potential of Calotropis procera leaf fractions in FCA-Induced Arthritic Rats: Involvement of Cellular Inflammatory Mediators and Other Biomarkers. Agriculture 2021;11:68.
https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11010068
Naz R, Ahmed Z, Shahzad M, Shabbir A, Kamal F. Amelioration of rheumatoid arthritis by anacardium occidentale via inhibition of collagenase and lysosomal enzymes. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2020;2020:8869484.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8869484
Li Y, Kakkar R, Wang J. In vivo and in vitro Approach to Anti-arthritic and Anti-inflammatory Effect of Crocetin by Alteration of Nuclear Factor-E2-Related Factor 2/hem Oxygenase (HO)-1 and NF-κB Expression. Front Pharmacol 2018;9:1341.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2018.01341
Nasuti C, Fedeli D, Bordoni L, Piangerelli M, Servili M, Selvaggini R, et al. Anti-Inflammatory, Anti-Arthritic and Anti-Nociceptive Activities of Nigella sativa Oil in a rat model of arthritis. Antioxidants (Basel) 2019;8:342.
https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox8090342
Zhang ZC, Zhang SJ, Jin B, Wu Y, Yang XF, Yu B, et al. Ciclamilast ameliorates adjuvant-induced arthritis in a rat model. BioMed Res Int 2015;2015:786104.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/786104
Swathi KP, Jayaram S, Sugumar D, Rymbai E. Evaluation of anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic property of ethanolic extract of Clitoria ternatea. Chin Herb Med 2020;13:243-9.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chmed.2020.11.004
Cui X, Wang R, Bian P, Wu Q, Seshadri VDD, Liu L. Evaluation of antiarthritic activity of nimbolide against Freund's adjuvant induced arthritis in rats. Artif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol 2019;47:3391-8.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21691401.2019.1649269
Karsdal MA, Woodworth T, Henriksen K, Maksymowych WP, Genant H, Vergnaud P, et al. Biochemical markers of ongoing joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis - current and future applications, limitations and opportunities. Arthritis Res Ther 2011; 13:215.
https://doi.org/10.1186/ar3280
Pallinti V, Ganesan N, Anbazhagan M, Rajasekhar G. Serum biochemical markers in rheumatoid arthritis. Indian J Biochem Biophys 2009;46:342-4.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Chulalongkorn Medical Journal

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.