Anti-Arthritic Effect of Chicken Embryo Tissue Hydrolyzate Against Adjuvant Arthritis in Rats (X-Ray Microtomographic and Histopathological Analysis)

Finding: new, safe strategies to prevent and control rheumatoid arthritis is an urgent task. Of particular interest in this regard are bioactive peptides and peptide-rich protein hydrolyzates, which represent a new trend in the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals. The resulting tissue hydrolyzate of the chicken embryo (CETH) has been evaluated for acute toxicity and tested against chronic arthritis induced by Freund's full adjuvant in rats. The anti-arthritic effect of CETH was studied on the 28th day of the experiment after two weeks of oral administration of CETH at doses of 60 and 120 mg/kg body weight. Arthritis was evaluated on the last day of the experiment on the injected animal paw using X-ray computerized microtomography and histopathology analysis methods. The CETH effect was compared with the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac sodium (5 mg/kg). Oral administration of CETH was accompanied by effective dose-dependent correction of morphological changes caused by the adjuvant injection. CETH had relatively high recovery effects in terms of parameters for reducing inflammatory edema, inhibition of osteolysis, prevention of osteophitosis, reduction of the inflammatory reaction of periarticular tissues, and cartilage degeneration. This study presents a potential theoretical strategy for the safe correction of this pathological process and, for the first time, shows that CETH may be a powerful potential nutraceutical agent or bioactive component of functional products in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.