Graduate Student - Ph.D.

Department of Anatomy

Pain Research Lab

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (New Delhi, India)

BCIL-BITP Researcher

Molecular Diagnostics

Auroprobe Laboratories, Ghaziabad, U.P

Dr.S. B. Ray

Influence of Spirulina platensis on the pain sensitivity of Collagen-induced Arthritic rats.

Human body is the great conundrum of biological systems which further show a gradual complexity from cellular to organism level. In this respect, human musculoskeletal system is somehow special as it is controlled by skeletal, muscular and nervous influences. The nervous system is itself a labyrinth of collection of networks which are responsible for the activities of the muscles by virtue of whose movements, the bones become ready to be in motion and that’s why we readily become set to walk or run at a time when there is a need. Thus nervous control is supreme system to control the musculoskeletal activities. If there is any deformity in the musculoskeletal system, the nervous system will also show its effects and vice a versa, e.g., if a joint is deformed in a disease like arthritis, which is the most common musculoskeletal disorder, then there will be a response of nervous system in the form of unpleasant sensory and emotional manner which is termed as ‘Pain’. Virtually all joint injuries and diseases produce a stiff, aching pain, often referred to as "arthritic" pain. There may be swelling of the joint along with the pain. Joint inflammation (arthritis) is a common cause of joint pain. There are many types of arthritis, including rheumatoid and other types of inflammatory arthritis, osteoarthritis, infectious arthritis, and arthritis due to gout or pseudo gout. Other causes of joint pain include autoimmune and vasculitic disorders (for example, systemic lupus erythematosus, polymyalgia rheumatica, and polyarteritis nodosa), avascular necrosis of bone, and injuries (dislocations, sprains, and fractures affecting the portion of the bone inside the joint). Thus, the pain modulation in RA is the prime focus of the investigators.
As for as our dissertation work is concerned, first of all, we successfully established the Collagen Induced Arthritic (CIA) rat models according to Remmer’s et al (2002), which were equivalent to Rhematoid Arthritic (RA) rat models, with an intradermal primary immunization with Collagen (C-II) dissolved in incomplete Freud’s Adjuvant. Animals were divided into three groups i.e., RA control group, methotrexate (MTX) treated group and Spirulina platensis treated group. Each group was having 4 rats. 20 days to post CIA induction, the rats were treated with oral dose of Spirulina platensis and MTX accordingly till the 45th day. On every 5th day after CIA induction, the rats were undergone to analyse the pain sensitivity via Hot plate and Tail flick behavioral tests. During this study, we investigated the efficiency of Spirulina platensis in modulating the pain sensitivity in CIA models and compared it with usually prescribed DMARD like MTX. Our findings were interesting. We found that arthritic control rats were showing more sensitivity towards painful stimuli in compare to MTX and S. platensis treated RA rats. S. platensis treated rats were showing a significant recovery from RA symptoms and the pain sensitivity had decreased to a significant level. We can conclude that both tail flick latency and hot plate latency (hind paw lick or flick, jump) increases in the case of S. platensis to a significant level.
As for as the pain modulation via S. platensis treatment is concerned, it is a potent antioxidant and a valuable source of C-phycocyanin (C-PC), a biliprotein, which shows anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting proinflammatory cytokine formation, inducible nitric oxide synthase( i NOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression( Shih et al., 2009). It has been shown that the inhibition of NO and prostaglandin E2 over-production through suppressing i NOS and COX-2 induction and attenuation of TNF-alpha formation and neutrophil infiltration into inflammatory sites by C-PC may contribute to its antihyperalgesic activity in inflammatory nociception responses like RA.

2010-2011 Molecular Diagnostics.

2009 Electrophysiology and Animal Behavior at Defence Institute of Physiology & Allied Sciences (DIPAS), New Delhi

2009 f- MRI at FIRC,New Delhi

2009-present Member of Indian Academy of Neuroscience (IAN)

2008-present Member of International Brain Research Organization ( IBRO)

2004-present Treasurer of GVS an 20 Years old NGO at Agra, U.P, India

2009 John Miller Travel Award

2009 Best poster presentation At Science Day in group(DST,India),Jiwaji University,Gwalior,M.P,India

2006-2007 Rescue commanding Leader ,District Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India

2006 Certificate of Fire Fighter ,U.P Government, India

2005-2008 Proof reader -Pragati Publications Medical and biology books

2003 Young Scientist Award District- Mathura, NCSTC, Uttar Pradesh , India

2003 Among 12 Best Cadets of - 10 U.P Battalion NCC, India

2002 Young Poet Award,District - Mathura, U.P, India