FIGURE 4.

WWXDD alleviates MSU-induced arthritis in rats. (A) Timetable of drug administration and MSU induction in rats: Rats were treated with WWXDD or colchicine on day 7, followed by injection of MSU into the right forepaw on day 11. Arthritis severity scores were recorded every 24 h after MSU induction. (B) Representative photographs of each rat group were taken at 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h. (C) Arthritis severity scores were evaluated and compared every 24 h after MSU induction. The results showed a significant decrease in arthritis score in the medium dose of WWXDD group compared to the model group at 24 h (p <0.01). (D) Representative microscopic images of H&E stained paws from each group are shown (magnifications: ×100). (E) Summarized data revealed a significant reduction in the number of infiltrated neutrophils per observation field in inflamed joint tissues for both the medium dose of WWXDD and colchicine groups compared to the model group (p <0.01). NC, normal control group; Model, model group; Low, low dose WWXDD group; Medium, medium dose WWXDD group; High, high dose WWXDD group; Colchicine, positive control group. Results are derived from 3 separate experiments. **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.