Alpha-lipoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid: a positive interaction on the carrageenan inflammatory response in rats

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These studies were designed to assess the pharmacodynamic interaction between alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in controlling the inflammatory
response induced by carrageenan in the rat. Particularly, the activity of ALA (100 mg/kg per os) and DHA (200 mg/kg per os), given alone or in combination, was evaluated by paw oedema method.
The results of the present study clearly indicate that the new formulation containing ALA plus DHA, in a range of 2:1, had significantly greater effect than either DHA
or ALA alone in antagonizing carrageenan-induced inflammatory response.
These results indicate that ALA plus DHA induce a favourable pharmacodynamic interaction which can be considered to be synergistic, at least in these experimental
settings