Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic disorder which involves the activation of immune system against the self-tissues. The main targets of this disease are the joints. Being systemic the development of this disease involves different mechanisms and thus the exact cause of this disease remains unknown. Although different drugs have been developed, none has been found to be the cure for this disease. In the current study the rat carrageenin paw was used as a model for acute inflammation and mycobacterium induced adjuvant arthritic model was used for exploring the antiarthritic potential of methanolic extract of Gentiana kurroo. In this study the different extracts tested showed less inhibition of acute inflammation than methanolic extract. The methanolic extract was further used in different doses and the anti-inflammatory efficacy was found to be dose dependent. The results obtained were significant with the control and the standard groups. In the arthritic model the methanolic extract showed decrease in the paw volume of arthritic animals and also in the arthritic symptoms. Again the results obtained were found to be significantly dose dependent. From the results obtained it can be concluded that this extract may serve as a source of drug against the rheumatoid arthritis. 1. Introduction Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by synovial inflammation and irreversible joint destruction and leads to significant disability [1]. It has affected about 1% of the population throughout the world with male and female ratio of 1？:？2.5 [2]. The etiology of this disease is still unknown [3]. The various proinflammatory molecules including reactive oxygen species, prostaglandins, leukotrines and cytokines released by macrophages are involved in the cause of this disorder [4, 5]. The potential target for the treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions can be the regulatory checks of these mediators secreted by immune cells and the inhibition of enzymes like COX and LOX for the metabolic modulation of arachidonic acid [6, 7]. RA being a systemic disease can affect the whole body and internal organs (with exceptions) such as the lungs, heart, and eyes [8, 9]. Although different categories like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), immunosuppressants, and steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are in use, the limitation is their potential side effects. The development of new safe, potent, less toxic antiarthritic drug is the growing concern all over [10, 11]. The remedy for arthritis cannot be thought beyond nature. A number of herbs are
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