Cutting Edge of Herbal Drugs over Allopathic Drugs in Clinical Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory and systemic auto immune disease, affecting people predominantly between the ages of 20-60 years with unpredictable course. About 1% of the world's population is afflicted by rheumatoid arthritis and is two to three times more common in women than men. This is a long lasting disease that can affect joints in any part of the body, most commonly the hands, wrists, and knees. Popularity of medicinal plants is increasing day by day due to side effects of allopathic medicines. Herbal medicinal plants have been used as major sources of cure of human diseases since time immemorial. Today, one fourth of world population depends on traditional medicine and 80% of the population relies on indigenous herbal medicinal plants. Even today most of the people lives in different developing countries depend on the plant derived medicines for the first line of primary health care because of least or no side effects.

Alternative Approaches for Rheumatoid Arthritis Management: Future Perspective, Herbal, Dietary, Lifestyle, Psychological, Nutritional Intervention and Healthcare

“…In RA, cartilage dissolved results in erosion caused by osteoclasts and proteolytic enzymes. Immunoglobulins M and A (IgM and IgA) are significant pathogenic markers in RA [16,17]. Molecular mechanism involved in rheumatoid arthritis, is shown in Fig.…”

“…), leflunomide (Arava), hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), and sulfasalazine are examples of common DMARDs (Azulfidine). Side effects can range from mild to severe but can include liver damage and severe lung infections [5,16].…”