Abstract: To investigate the preventive and therapeutical effects of total flavonoids from Juniperus sabina (JSTF) on Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA)-induced arthritis in rats.JSTF was administered intragastrically once a day before adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) induction,JSTF can reduce rat right paw (injected side) swelling,and significantly improve IL-1β and TNF-α level (P<0.05).In preventive experiment of secondary inflammatory,JSTF (125,250,500 mg/kg) can inhibit the degrees of skin erythema in rats,and reduce the TNF-α levels in peripheral blood (P<0.05),of which high-dose group significantly reduce arthritis index (AI) (P<0.05) at a doseresponse manner.In therapeutical experiment of secondary inflammatory,skin appeared folds with color from dark red to normal,secondary swelling and erythema significantly improved,compared with the model group,AI values of various group in JSTF were significantly decreased (P<0.05),of which the high and low dose group also significantly reduced TNF-α levels (P<0.05).The results showed that JSTF had preventive and therapeutical effects on adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats.

Key words: Juniperus sabina L., flavonoid, adjuvant-induced arthritis