Plants derived-natural products for the prevention and management of arthritis: A systematic review of preclinical and clinical studies

Background and Objective: Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints, which is divided to chronic and acute arthritis. Natural products (NPs) are a rich source for discovery and development of novel drugs. Because of their pharmacological and biological activities, they can be used in prevent or treatment of various diseases. The aim of current study is to systematically review the pharmacological effects and molecular mechanisms of natural compounds in preventing and treating arthritis.Search method: Electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Cochrane library were explored by using the keywords rheumatoid arthritis or arthritis or inflammation and phytochemicals or plant or herb in the whole text. Data were collected from 1970 to 2018 (July). Findings: Based on reviewed animal and clinical studies, various active phytochemical agents derived from medicinal plants are potentially efficacious on arthritis. These phytoconstituents are from different chemical categories including flavonols, lignans, coumarins, terpenes, alkaloids, as well as thymoquinone. Scientific evidence has revealed that natural products exert beneficial effects on arthritis through several cellular and molecular mechanisms including downregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as ILs, TNF-α IFN-γ, as well as inhibiting initiation of inflammatory response. Conclusion: Result obtained from current review demonstrated that natural compounds could suppress oxidative-associated damage of arthritic tissue mediated by attenuating free radicals and NO as well as downregulation of iNOS expression, likewise enhancement of antioxidative performance through stimulating the expression and activity of antioxidant enzymes including catalase, superoxide dismutase and GPx are among the anti-arthritic mechanisms of natural remedies. To conclude, numerous in vitro, preclinical and clinical studies have confirmed the beneficial effects of natural products for the management of arthritis pathogenesis and its complications. Further research is mandatory to focus on bioefficacy and safety aspects of these phytochemical agents for finding novel natural drugs.

کلیدواژه ها:

arthritis ، natural compounds ، phytochemicals ، inflammatory cytokines ، antioxidant