Comparison of antiinflammatory activity of serratiopeptidase and diclofenac in albino rats

1. Ruth N. Communicating student evaluation of teaching results: rating interpretation guides (RIGs). Assess Evaluation Higher Edu 2000;25:121-34. 2. Victoroff KZ, Hogan S. Students' perceptions of effective learning experiences in dental school: a qualitative study using a critical incident technique. J Dental Edu 2006;70:124-132. 3. Bhavsar VH, Vajpeyee SK, Joshi NJ, Mistry SD, Kantharia ND, Sharma AK, et al. Training during practical pharmacology sessions for undergraduate medical students: An experience with a modified teaching programme. Indian J Pharmacol 1993;31:176-86. 4. Bhavsar VH. Experience regarding modification of teaching and the evaluation pattern in practical pharmacology. Indian J Pharmacol 2004;36:385-9. 5. Kaufman M, Mann V. Achievement of Students in a Conventional and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Curriculum. Adv Health Sci Edu 1999;4:245-60. 6. Garg A, Rataboli PV, Muchandi K. Students' opinion on the prevailing teaching methods in pharmacology and changes recommended. Indian J Pharmacol 2004;36:155-58. 7. Kela AK, Mehta VL. Impacts of inclusion of clinical projects in undergraduate teaching. Indian J Pharmacol 1993;25:249-50. 8. Han WH, Maxwell SRJ. Are medical students adequately trained to prescribe at the point of graduation? Views of first year foundation doctors. Scottish Med J 2006;51:27-32.


Comparison of antiinflammatory activity of serratiopeptidase and diclofenac in albino rats
Sir, Acute and chronic inflammatory diseases are one of the most important health problems in the world. Although several agents are known to treat inflammatory disorders, their prolonged use often leads to gastric intolerance, bone marrow depression and water and salt retention. [1] Although the newer nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are more potent, having the same or greater action against many chronic clinical situations and also having a favorable safety profile as compared with the older groups, an entirely satisfactory solution is still eluding. [2] Serratiopeptidase, a proteolytic enzyme, has been found useful in patients suffering from acute or chronic inflammatory disorders of ear, nose or throat, such as laryngitis, catarrhal rhino-pharyngitis and sinusitis. [3] Hence, the present study was undertaken to compare antiinflammatory effect of serratiopeptidase against diclofenac sodium.
Sixteen Charles foster albino rats of either sex weighing 150-250 g were randomly divided into four groups, with four animals in each group. The animals were maintained at room temperature and fed with standard pellet diet (Pranav Agro Industries Pvt. Ltd., Vadodara, India ) and water, ad libitum. Diclofenac sodium (Novartis India Ltd., Mumbai, India), serratiopeptidase (Systopic Laboratories Ltd., New Delhi, India) and formaldehyde were used for the study. The experimental study protocol was approved by the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (Registration number 454/1a/ CPCSEA).
Acute inflammation was induced by subplantar injection of 0.1 mL of 2% formalin in both hind paws, 1 h after oral administration of distilled water (0.4 mL/100 g) in group 1, which served as control, diclofenac (0.5 mg/kg) in group 2, which served as standard, serratiopeptidase (10 mg/kg) in group 3 and serratiopeptidase (20 mg/kg) in group 4. The paw volume was measured immediately and at 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 h following the injection of formalin. For chronic inflammation study, the above animals were further treated with serratiopeptidase, diclofenac or distilled water twice daily orally for 9 consecutive days. A second injection of formalin was given on the third day. [4] The daily changes in the paw volume were measured by plethysmograph and was expressed as an increase in the paw volume. The results of acute and chronic inflammation are represented graphically in Figures  1 and 2, respectively.
All values are presented as mean ± SEM. Differences between means were assessed by one-way analysis of variance, followed by Tukey's multiple comparison test using GraphPad Prism Version 5.01 software. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Research Letters
Acute inflammation induced by formalin results from cell damage, which provokes the production of endogenous mediators such as histamine, serotonin, prostaglandins and bradykinin. [5] Serratiopeptidase hydrolyses bradykinin, histamine and serotonin responsible for edematic status. [6] Despite some possible limitations of our study such as single model study, relatively small sample size and possible subjective error in the assessment of paw edema, the results of the present study indicate that serratiopeptidase is orally effective and possesses anti-inflammatory activity, which is nearly equivalent to diclofenac sodium in both acute and chronic phases of inflammation.