Antiarthritic Potential of Aqueous and Ethanolic Fruit Extracts of “Momordica charantia” Using Different Screening Models

Background: Momordica charantia (Cucurbitaceae) is a plant, reported for its variety of ethnic medicinal uses and widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit. Objective: The present work has been planned to screen antiarthritic activity of fruit of the plant with the ethanolic and aqueous extracts. Materials and Methods: Fruit powder was successively extracted with ethanol (95%) and water using soxhlet extraction and subjected to phytochemical screening to identify different phytoconstituents. Ld50 studies for both (ethanolic and aqueous) extracts were conducted up to the dose level of 2 g/kg by following OECD up and down method of guidelines No. 425. Antiarthritic activity was performed using formaldehyde, Freund’s adjuvant‑induced arthritis in rats, and Collagen‑induced arthritis model in mice. Statistical analysis was performed using one‑way analysis of variance followed by Dunnett’s t‑test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Preliminary phytochemical studies revealed the presence of saponins, sterols, mucilage, glycosides, alkaloids, steroidal saponins in both the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of M. charantia. No mortality was observed with aqueous and ethanolic extracts up to the maximum dose level of 2 g/kg. In Formaldehyde induced arthritis model the percentage reduction in paw volume was 30.69% and 42.81% for aqueous extract whereas for ethanolic extract it was 25.23% and 39.5%. In Freund’s adjuvant model, the percentage of reduction in paw volume was 56.1% and 66.51% for ethanolic extract and 52.6% and 63.83% for aqueous extract, respectively. In collagen‑induced arthritis models, the arthritis index was found 6.02 and 3.68 for ethanolic extract at medium and high dosage. The arthritis index of aqueous extract was found 5.66 and 4.03 at medium and high dosage. Conclusion: From the present experimental findings of both pharmacological and biochemical parameters observed from the current investigation, it is concluded that at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg aqueous extract of M. charantia possesses potentially useful anti‑arthritic activity since it gives a positive result in controlling inflammation in adjuvant‑induced arthritic and collagen‑induced arthritis model in rats and mice