The fruits of Barringtonia racemosa are prescribed in the ayurvedic literature for the treatment of
pain,
inflammation and rheumatic conditions. In present investigation, activity guided isolation of
bartogenic acid (BA) and its evaluation in the Complete
Freund's Adjuvant (CFA)-induced
arthritis in rats is reported. Among the various extracts and fractions investigated preliminarily for
carrageenan-induced acute
inflammation in rats, the
ethyl acetate fraction displayed potent anti-inflammatory activity. Large-scale isolation and characterization using chromatography and spectral study confirmed that the constituent responsible for the observed pharmacological effects was BA. Subsequently the BA was evaluated for effectiveness against CFA-induced
arthritis in rats. The results indicate that at doses of 2, 5, and 10 mg kg(-1) day(-1), p.o., BA protects rats against the primary and secondary arthritic lesions,
body weight changes and haematological perturbations induced by CFA. The
serum markers of
inflammation and
arthritis, such as
C-reactive protein and
rheumatoid factor, were also reduced in the BA-treated arthritic rats. The overall severity of
arthritis as determined by radiological analysis and
pain scores indicated that BA exerts a potent protective effect against adjuvant-induced
arthritis in rats. In conclusion, the present study validates the ethnomedicinal use of fruits of B. racemosa in the treatment of
pain and inflammatory conditions. It further establishes the potent anti-arthritic effects of BA. However, additional clinical investigations are needed to prove the efficacy of BA in the treatment of various immuno-inflammatory disorders.