The Chief Executive Officer of Health Forever Product Limited, Ikeja, Lagos, producer of the natural dietary supplement, Jobelyn, Otunba Olajuwon Okubena answers the question.
Arthritis is a group of conditions involving damage to the joints of the body. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in people older than fifty-five years.
There are different forms of arthritis; each having different causes. The most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease) is a result of trauma to the joint, infection of the joint, or age. Emerging evidence suggests that abnormal anatomy might contribute to the early development of osteoarthritis. Other arthritis are rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, autoimmune diseases in which the body attacks itself.
Medical doctors believe there is no cure for arthritis, and so they prescribe treatments that will lessen the pains and discomfort arising from it. Tylenol, aspirin, and ibuprofen are but a few of the non-prescription drugs that the doctor may recommend. Others may include cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors, steroids, and anti-biologics. Surgery is an option is some instances. But what physicians recommend most are effective pain-lessening treatments for arthritis.
Scientists from Neuropharmacology Unit, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, led by Dr Solomon Mukoro in a recent animal model in vivo study, postulated that Jobelyn has the potential to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis in human.
In a recent article published in the journal “Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy” (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2017.12.098), it was reported that Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the physical and psycho-social well being of the patients and a major cause of work disability. Current drugs for its treatment only provide palliative effect, as cure for the disease still remains elusive. Jobelyn, a potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory dietary supplement obtained from Sorghum bicolor, has been claimed to relieve arthritic pain.
Thus, this study was designed to evaluate its effect on inflammatory and biochemical changes as well as neurobehavioural deficits associated with complete Freund-adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritis in mice. The effect of Jobelyn on inflammatory oedema, neuro-behavioural deficits, levels of bio-markers of oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6) was evaluated in male Swiss mice.
Oral administration of Jobelyn reduced inflammatory paw volume and reversed sensori motor deficits induced by CFA. Jobelyn also reduced pain episodes, anxiety and depressive-like symptoms in CFA-mice. The increased level of oxidative stress in the joint and brain tissues of CFA mice was reduced by Jobelyn. It also decreased tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 levels induced by CFA in the joint tissue of mice.
According to the scientists these findings suggest that Jobelyn attenuates inflammatory responses induced by CFA in mice via inhibition of oxidative stress and release of inflammatory cytokines. The ability of Jobelyn to attenuate CFA-induced nociception, sensori motor deficits and depressive-like symptom suggests it might improve the quality of life of patients with arthritic conditions.
The full research paper could be accessed at:https://www.afritrado medic.com/pdf/Jobelyn% C2%AE%20attenuates%20 inflammatory%20 responses%20Freund-adjuvant-induced%20 arthritis%20 in%20mice.pdf
In an earlier study published in https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2017.12.098 (De Gruyter), the authors in article titled Jobelyn exhibited anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and membrane-stabilizing activities in experimental models, the authors stated that Jobelyn is an African sorghum-based food supplement claimed to be efficacious for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Although in vitro studies confirmed its anti-inflammatory property, no study had shown the effect of Jobelyn using in vivo animal models of inflammation. Thus, its effects on acute and chronic inflammation in rats were evaluated in this study. Its effect on rat red blood cell (RBC) lysis was also assessed.
The results of the experiment confirmed that given orally, Jobelyn produced a significant inhibition of acute inflammation induced by carrageenan in rats. It reduced the volume and number of leukocytes in inflammatory fluid in the granuloma air pouch model of chronic inflammation. It further decreased the levels of MDA in the fluid suggesting antioxidant property. Jobelyn elevated the concentrations of GSH in inflammatory exudates, indicating free radical scavenging activity. It also significantly inhibited RBC lysis caused by hypotonic medium, suggesting membrane-stabilizing property.
The authors concluded that Jobelyn has in vivo anti-inflammatory activity, which may be related to its antioxidant and membrane stabilising properties, supporting its use for the treatment of arthritic disorder.
The full length paper could be accessed at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277409295_ Jobelyn_exhibited_anti-inflammatory_ antioxidant_and_membrane-stabilizing_ activities_in_experi-mental_ models.
Having now proven the potential of Jobelyn to cure rheumatoid arthritis in animal model, the scientists have offered the product for human clinical trials, which when successfully done would place the product on the world map as the first of its kind in the natural product category to provide the much needed medication to help the millions of sufferers from this disease. Human and animal trials published in reputable journals have confirmed the safety of the product.
An old adage says that prevention is better than cure. Medical doctors believe there is no cure for arthritis, and so they prescribe treatments that will lessen the pain and discomfort of arthritis.
Natural medicine practitioners believe there is no disease without cure, arthritis not exempted. There abound several testimonies of patients, who have used methods other than the strict orthodox to cure themselves of arthritis. A woman cured herself of arthritis following the following steps:
“I got rid of my arthritis by radically changing my diet. I tell people with arthritis that if you want to get rid of it, you have to give up everything enjoyable except sex. I spent three weeks on the diet. I bought an electric juice extractor and for the first three days the only food I consumed was freshly extracted fruit juice and vegetable juice. I drank the juice five or six times a day, a couple of glasses at a time, or whatever I felt comfortable with. I also drank peppermint tea and rain water.
“You must drink the juice as soon as you extract it – don’t keep it in the fridge for later, and don’t use juice bought from a supermarket. After three days you continue with the juice every day, but additionally you start eating raw fruit, raw vegetables and raw nuts in quantities you’re comfortable with – graze throughout the day rather than sit down to three meals.
“Herb tea and rain water are the only drinks allowed – I drank Peppermint tea and still do. The emphasis is on fresh raw food and juices – nothing is to be cooked. You can’t add anything to the food either, such as salt, sugar, sauce, but you can use herbs to flavour the raw vegetables. Alcohol and caffeine are strictly forbidden. In fact, everything is strictly forbidden except fresh fruit juice and vegetable juice, whole fresh raw fruit and vegetable, raw nuts, herb tea and rain water. The distilled water you can buy in supermarkets would probably be okay too, but town water that’s chlorinated is definitely out,”she said.
“The purpose of this diet is to flush the toxins out of your body, particularly uric acid. Uric acid, as doctors know, is a bad inflammatory agent that deposits itself as crystals in the joints and in places of injury in the body. It helps to cause the pain, inflammation and swelling associated with arthritis.
Doctors prescribe drugs to combat the effects of uric acid, but a far more effective way is to flush it out of your system so that it can’t cause problems. Uric acid is one of the many toxic by-products produced from food during the digestive process. On the typical western diet there is such an over-abundance of these toxins produced within the body that the organs can’t cope with the excessive workload, and the toxins build up to the point where they can start causing problems.
The idea is to change over to an easily digestible diet that produces a minimum amount of toxic by-products. The eliminative organs of the body can easily cope with the greatly reduced workload, and also clear out the backlog of accumulated toxins.
“As the toxins were cleared from my body my pain and swelling reduced progressively until after about two weeks I was about 80 per cent clear of pain and I stopped the anti-inflammatory drugs.
“After three weeks I was totally clear of all symptoms of arthritis – no pain, no swelling – nothing. As a long term maintenance programme you can go on to a 75/25 diet, i.e. each meal must contain at least, 75 per cent good foods and no more than 25 per cent bad foods. Good foods are all those included in the three week diet. Bad foods are all other foods.
“If you really want to maintain optimal health, eat raw fruit, raw vegetables, and raw nuts as your only food for the rest of your life. If you are to prevent arthritis from destroying your life you must refrain from processed foods and other acid forming foods. Normally, a healthy diet should be 70 per cent alkaline and 30 per cent acidic. Alkaline foods are typically foods which are still in their natural state (raw and fresh). And acidic foods are typically foods which have been altered through processing, frying, and high-fat cooking.
“Therefore, instead of eating acidic foods (cooked and processed), you should be eating mostly raw, fresh vegetables and fruits. They are rich in antioxidants which neutralize free radicals that are responsible for inflammation, arthritis and pains. Also, reducing the consumption of meat can also be helpful against arthritis. By eating less meat and more fresh fruits and vegetables, one would be allowing your body to receive more nutrients and keep your acidic levels low. The result of your new diet could change the pain and inflammation affecting your arthritic joints.
Some years ago, a middle aged woman was escorted to my office by a friend to seek solution for her arthritis problem. It was a big problem for her to even sit down on the chair. She wasted no time in narrating her story. “My grandmother died of arthritis complications, my mother is on wheel chair at home, and having lost the ability to move about and here I am at the verge of completely breaking down for the same dreadful arthritis. We have exhausted all prescribed medications. Is there any hope?” I recommended that she should take three capsules of Jobelyn, three times daily and drink lots of water, minimum of 3 to five litres daily. “Is that all?, she said. I had to offer her a refund for the purchase of this product if after one month of treatment; her condition did not improve considerably. Her return before the end of the month was to give testimony and introduce two other friends going through the pains and agony of arthritis.
In my excitement, I informed my friend, Dr. David Abia-Okon (a surgeon) of my new discovery for Jobelyn. Though he is a fanatical believer in Jobelyn but he confines his use of Jobelyn to the treatment of Anaemia, Sickle-Cell Anaemia and Stroke, he refused to embrace the idea of Jobelyn being capable of tackling the problem of Arthritis. The only way to convince him was through scientific evidence. In spite of the test-tube experiments
