Evaluation of Efficacy of Hulba (Trigonellafoenumgraecum Linn.) in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Randomized Control Trial

Abstract

The prevalence of the disease is approximately 0.5–1%. Rheumatoid arthritis has a large impact on patient’s quality of life and it has also been associated with a reduced life expectancy. Therefore, the study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Tukhm Hulba (Trigonellafoenumgraecum Linn.) in the management of rheumatoid arthritis. The study was carried out as a single, blind, randomized and standard controlled trial, to evaluate the efficacy of Tukhme Hulba (Trigonellafoenumgraecum Linn.) in the management of rheumatoid arthritis. Sixty diagnosed patients of rheumatoid arthritis according to American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria were included and randomly allocated to control and test groups; comprising 40 patients in test and 20 patients in control group. The test drug Tukhm Hulba was given to the test group in the form of tablet in the dose of 5 gm orally twice a day for 45 days, while the control group received Habbe Suranjan as a standard drug in the dose of two pills twice a day for 45 days. Rheumatoid arthritis patients were assessed for DAS28 score, subjective and objective parameters. The results were analysed statistically using Friedman test, Mann Whitney test, and paired ‘t’ test for intra group comparison, while Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn’s multiple comparisons test, one way ANOVA with post-test for inter group comparison and CRP and RA factor were analysed by using Fisher’s extract test. The test drug exhibited significant effect on DAS28 score (p<0.01) and subjective parameters like morning stiffness (p<0.05), arthritis in three or more joints (p<0.05); while there was no effect on symmetrical arthritis. On objective parameters, there was no significant effect observed in ESR, CRP, RA factor and X-ray joints. The study revealed that the test drug exhibits good response on parameters such as DAS 28 score, morning stiffness and arthritis in three or more joints. Furthermore, no adverse effect was observed at the end of trial. Therefore, it may be concluded that the test drug is safe but not potentially effective in rheumatoid arthritis.

Keywords: Rheumatoid arthritis, Tukhme Hulba, randomized controlled trial

Cite this Article

Musta Ali, Siddiqui MA, Khan Javed A. Evaluation of Efficacy of Hulba (Trigonellafoenumgraecum Linn.) in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Randomized Control Trial. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Biotechnology. 2016; 6(3): 27–34p.