Anti-arthritic effect of ginsenoside Rb1 on collagen induced arthritis in mice.

Background: The development of orally bioavailable, inexpensive inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is desirable for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Objective: To show the efficacy of ginsenoside Rb1 (G-Rb1), a ginseng extract, on the inhibition of TNF-alpha upregulation and on the inhibition of collagen induced arthritis (CIA).

Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), chondrocytes and fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) were stimulated with interferon(IFN)-gamma, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or interleukin-1 in the presence or absence of G-Rb1.