Anti-inflammatory effects and pharmacokinetics study of geniposide on rats with adjuvant arthritis

• We compared pharmacokinetic profiles of GE in AA rats at different doses.
• The relationship between effect and pharmacokinetics of GE is proposed.
• There may be positive correlations between PK parameters and efficacy index.
• GE in treatment of RA may be related to reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines in synoviocytes.
• The mechanism of the inflammatory effect of GE may be related to the phosphorylation of p38MAPK in synoviocytes.

The aim of this study was to explore the anti-inflammatory effects of Geniposide (GE), an iridoid glycoside compound extracted from Gardenia jasminoides Ellis (GJ) fruit in adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) rats and its pharmacokinetic (PK) basis. AA was induced by injecting with Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA). Male SD rats were subjected to treatment with GE (30, 60 and 120 mg/kg) from day 17 to 24 after immunization. Fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS) proliferation was assessed by MTT. Interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, TNF-α and IL-10 were determined using double-sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Expression of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38MAPKs) related proteins in FLS was detected by Western blotting. PK profiles were simultaneously detected by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS) in AA rat plasma after oral administration of GE on day 17 after immunization. As a result, GE promoted the recovery of arthritis and inhibited the colonic inflammation damage in AA rats by decreasing the expression level of TNF-α, IL-1 and IL-6, increasing the production of IL-10 and inhibiting the expression of phospho-p38 (p-p38) related proteins in FLS. PK parameters (AUC, Cmax and t1/2) tended to be associated with dosage-related decreasing of efficacy index.