Abstract

The aim of the present study was to identify the absorbed components of raw fuzi in a rat adjuvant arthritis model and evaluate the therapeutic effects of three alkaloids of fuzi’s absorbed components, aconitine, hypaconitine and mesaconitine. The adjuvant arthritis model was established by complete Freund’s adjuvant injection in Wistar rats. Then the animal’s body weight, condition of fur, hind paw volume and immunological parameters, nitric oxide and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, were assessed as markers of inflammation and arthritis. Serum samples from rats treated with oral fuzi extracts were analyzed by ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric and 12 prototypes of fuzi were identified. Aconitine and mesaconitine could substantially reduce the serum levels of nitric oxide and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the adjuvant arthritis model, while hypaconitine did not show obvious effects. The method for the identification of absorbed components of raw fuzi was simple and sensitive. Among the alkaloids, aconitine and mesaconitine might be the major compounds from diester-diterpenoid alkaloids for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The current study connected serum pharmacochemistry study of fuzi with pharmacological experiment in adjuvant arthritis model and discovered the effective substance of fuzi, which could provide plausible evidence for its using, a candidate treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.