Tempuyung Leaves (Sonchus arvensis) Ameliorates Monosodium Urate Crystal-Induced Gouty Arthritis in Rats through Anti-Inflammatory Effects

BACKGROUND: Gouty arthritis, a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by severe pain and swelling in one or more synovial joints, as a result from joint deposition of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals. Tempuyung (Sonchus arvensis) is a plant that has been extensively studied in the role of shedding kidney stones and diuretics. It is presumed that it also has great potential in shedding MSU crystals in the joints. AIM: This study focused on exploring the anti-inflammatory role of tempuyung extract (ET) on pro-inflammatory cytokines in gout arthritis white rats. METHODS: The extraction of tempuyung was performed to obtain ET. A total of 30 Wistar rats were randomly divided into the following six groups, each containing five rats: Normal control group, MSU group (negative control), MSU + colchicine group (Col; 0.28 mg/kg), and MSU + ET group (at dose of 25 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg, and 100 mg/kg). Gouty arthritis was induced with 50 ml of MSU solution (20 mg/ml), which was injected into the left ankle joint cavity on day 7. Synovial fluid was evacuated for the examination of Western blotting of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). A portion of synovial tissue was fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde buffer for histopathological examination. Interleukin (IL)-1β levels in the synovial fluid of the joints were examined by IL-1β rat enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Statistical analysis was performed with way ANOVA followed by post hoc. RESULTS: The histopathological image of the MSU model group showed a large number of inflammatory cells depicting an inflammatory reaction. This inflammation response decreased in the ET treatment group in dose-dependent manner. ET showed the effect of decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines expression in both IL-1β and TNF-α, as the dose increased. CONCLUSION: Tempuyung extract possessed an anti-gout arthritis effect in white rats induced by MSU, by reducing the inflammatory response in the synovial joint.