Objective: The current study was carried out to investigate the xanthine oxidase inhibitory, antihyperuricemic, anti-inflammatory, and antinociception activity of α-lipoic acid (LA) in gouty model of rats.Methods: Enzyme assay was done using bovine milk xanthine oxidase (XO). The XO inhibitory activity in vitro was performed using different doses of α-LA, and the degree of XO inhibition was expressed as IC 50 . The antihyperuricemic activity of α-LA was tested in the potassium oxonate-induced hyperuricemic rats for 7 consecutive days of oral treatment of 10, 25, and 50 mg/kg doses. The anti-inflammatory activity was achieved through monosodium urate crystal-induced inflammation hind paw model in mice. The antinociception effects of α-LA were explored using both of writhings induced by acetic acid test and hot plate test.
Results:The study results revealed that the α-LA has a potent activity of XO inhibition with IC 50 = 2.93 µg/mL. Furthermore, these results showed that all doses of α-LA were able to significant reduce of each the following: Serum uric acid levels in the hyperuricemic rats, hind paw thickness of mice at all periods of time assessment, and writhings number in the acetic acid-induced writhing test, while, the same doses significantly increased the reaction latency in mice at hot plate test.
Conclusion:The α-LA showed a significant effect on the evaluated models, and therefore it may be a promising agent for the treatment of gout since it possesses XO inhibitory, antihyperuricemic, anti-inflammatory, and antinociception activity.