Evaluation of the concomitant use of methotrexate and curcumin on Freund's complete adjuvant-induced arthritis and hematological indices in rats

Objective : To evaluate the concomitant administration of methotrexate and curcumin for antiarthiritic activity in rats.
Materials and Methods : Arthritis was induced in rats following a single subplantar injection of Freund's complete adjuvant (0.1 ml). Rats were divided into six groups of six animals each. Group I and II were control injected with saline and Freund's complete adjuvant (0.1 ml), respectively. Group III arthritic rats were treated with curcumin (100 mg/kg, i.p.) on alternate days. Group IV received methotrexate (MTX) (2 mg/kg, i.p.) once in a week. Group-V and VI were treated with MTX (1 mg/kg, i.p.) once in a week and after 30 min received curcumin (30 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg, thrice a week, i.p.) from 10 ^th to 45 ^th days, respectively. Body weight and the paw volume was measured on 9 ^th , 16 ^th , 23 ^rd , 30 ^th , 37 ^th , and 45 ^th days. Determination of complete blood cell counts, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration was determined on the 46 ^th day.
Results : An improvement in body weight and a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in arthritis was observed with the combination treatment as compared to the positive control. A significant improvement in the hematological profile was also observed in rats treated with curcumin and methotrexate.
Conclusion : The study showed a significant anti-arthritic action and protection from hematological toxicity with the combination treatment of methotrexate and curcumin.

Keywords
Curcumin, Freund's complete adjuvant, hematological toxicity, methotrexate, rheumatoid arthritis