Differential Effects of Chlorogenic Acid on Various Immunological Parameters Relevant to Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

Despite chlorogenic acid (CGA) being widely present in nature, particularly in the human diet, there is very little information regarding its pharmacological activities. The present investigation was carried out to investigate the antiarthritic activities of this compound in adjuvant induced-arthritis in male Wistar rats, and to explore the underlying mechanisms of actions in view of immunological responses. We observed that CGA effectively controlled the total (CD3) and differentiated (CD4 and CD8) T cells count at the dose of 40 mg/kg. We also assessed the effect on co-stimulatory molecules (CD28, CD80/86) and found that CGA efficiently suppressed CD80/86 but failed to bring any changes in the CD28 count, whereas ibuprofen (standard drug) resulted in highly significant inhibition of both. We next examined the effect on CD4⁺ T cells specific Th1/Th2 cytokines by flow cytometry and observed that CGA suppressed the Th1 cytokines in a highly significant manner but elevated Th2 cytokines with dose dependence. Results of the present investigation suggest that CGA is a potent antiarthritic agent.