Abstract

ANALGESIC EFFECTS / ACTIVITY OF EIGHT UNANI POLYHERBAL DECOCTION FORMULATION AS MUNZIJ-WA-MUS’HIL (CONCOCTIVE & PURGATIVE) THERAPY IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) – A RANDOMIZED OPEN CONTROLLED STUDY

Prof. (Dr.) Naquibul Islam*

ABSTRACT

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the commonest inflammatory diseases affecting joints in a balanced way, usually develops slowly between the age of 20 and 45 with 75% of patients being women. It is an extremely common disorder and affecting 0.5 to 3.8% in women and 0.15 to 1.3% in men. The inflammatory process initially produces tenderness, soreness, stiffness, swelling and eventually destruction of the cartilage and bone. The conventional drugs available for the management of RA are with adverse reactions and potential toxicities on nearly all systems of the body. The aim of this study was to assess the analgesic effects / activity of eight unani polyherbal decoction formulation as munzij-wa-mus’hil (concoctive & purgative) therapy in rheumatoid arthritis RA) – a randomized open controlled study. These eight unani (herbal) drugs in the form of decoction was given twice daily to the patients with pain in multiple joints in rheumatoid arthritis with very minimal or no side effects. For this purpose, 30 patients of rheumatoid arthritis, diagnosed and selected as per American Rheumatoid Association (ARA) divided in two groups namely test group and control group, with 15 patients in each group were included in a randomized open controlled study with pre  and post-treatment tests. The patients on test group were put on test drugs in the form of decoction twice daily of the botanically identified eight Unani (herbal) drugs namely, Badiyan(Foeniculum vulgare Mill (seeds) 5 gm, Bekh-e-badiyan(Foeniculum vulgare Mill (roots) 5 gm, Kasni (Cichorium intybus Linn (seeds) 5 gm, Bekh-e-kasni (Cichorium intybus Linn (roots) 5 gm, Suranjan shirin (Colchicum luteum Baker) 3 gm, Mawiz munaqqa(Vitis vinifera Linn) 5 no., Turbud safed (Operculina turpethum) 5 gm, and leaves of Barg-e-sanna(Cassia senna Linn) 5 gm, along with local application of an oil (a GCP herbal product of a reputed company in Delhi meant for arthritis patients) over affected joints twice daily and control patients were given control drug, a compound drug in the from of Pills along with local application of an oil (a GCP herbal product of a reputed company in Delhi). The duration of the study was 28 days. The statistical evaluations were done on day 0 and day 29 (i.e., next day after completion of intervention) and the clinical efficacy was compared within groups and between the groups to evaluate the analgesic effects/activity of unani (herbal) drugs in the subsidence of knee joint pain in rheumatoid arthritis. The study was carried out at Department of Moalajat (Medicine), Faculty of Medicine (Unani) and Majeedia Hospital, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi in 2005-2007 as the work of M.D. Dissertation and the data were submitted there. The t-Test (paired t for paired data & unpaired t for unpaired data) and Wilcoxon’s test for paired data & Mann-Whitney ‘U’ test for unpaired data were used. The clinical response of this Unani test formulation in the form of decocotion has proved to be effective in subsidence of joint pain in RA (p=<0.001) in test group which was significant than the control group (p=<0.001). This Fomulation may be tried as an alternate and toxic free therapy in the most crippling and disabling disease of rheumatoid arthritis. The details have been presented in the Manuscript.

Keywords: Analgesic, effects, activity, unani (herbal), drugs, rheumatoid arthritis, study.