¹Mehrdad Mosadegh, ²Aref Khalkhali, ¹Yousef Erfani, ¹Yasaman Sadeghi

¹Tehran University of Medical Sciences, ²Islamic Azad University of Mashhad

Background(s): In the context of adjuvant-induced rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in rats, the influence of diet quality and nutritional status on disease activity and laboratory markers has been established.

Method(s): In this experimental investigation, a cohort of twenty-five male Wistar rats was subjected to RA induction via Freud’s complete adjuvant. Subsequently, 15 of these rats underwent oral administration of the NBS supplement at varying concentrations (12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg) over a 30-day period, while the remaining 10 rats constituted the untreated control group. Baseline and terminal blood samples were acquired from all subjects subsequent to the 30-day treatment regimen for the purpose of evaluating serum levels of rheumatoid factor (RF), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP).

Result(s): Rats subjected to RA induction exhibited a discernible augmentation in inflammatory markers, namely ESR, CRP, and RF, relative to the control group. However, a one-month administration of the NBS supplement at varying dosages (12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg) resulted in a statistically significant attenuation of ESR, CRP, and RF levels in the treated rats. Notably, the highest efficacy was noted in the 50 mg/kg dosage group. Rigorous statistical analyses corroborated the substantial disparities in ESR, CRP, and RF levels among the experimental groups, with all NBS supplement dosages exhibiting significantly reduced levels vis-à-vis the untreated control group. Specifically, the mean ESR within the 50 mg/kg cohort demonstrated a marked reduction compared to the 12.5 mg/kg and 25 mg/kg groups. Similarly, the mean CRP in the 25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg cohorts exhibited a significant decrease relative to the 12.5 mg/kg group. Furthermore, the NBS supplement demonstrated efficacy in restoring RF levels to a normative state across all treated rats, with the most pronounced effects noted at the 50 mg/kg dosage (p < 0.05).

Conclusion(s): The findings posit the potential of the NBS supplement to normalize RF levels and mitigate symptoms associated with RA in animal models. The study advocates for the inclusion of the NBS in the therapeutic paradigm for RA, emphasizing the necessity for further exhaustive analyses to validate its therapeutic efficacy.