Alleviation of osteoarthritis by calycosin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (CG) isolated from Astragali radix (AR) in rabbit osteoarthritis (OA) model.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

This work was undertaken to assess the protective effect of an isoflavonoid, calycosin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (CG), isolated from Astragali radix (AR) on the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA)-like lesion in a rabbit model.

METHODS:

Nine rabbits underwent an anterior cruciate ligament and menisectomy transection (ACLMT) of the rear knee joints to induce OA-like lesion. They were randomly divided into three groups (n=6/group): a negative control group treated with 200 microl of 0.5% (v/v) dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), a positive control group treated with 200 microl of 100 microM piroxicam, and a test group treated with 100 microg/500 microl of CG, where the test agents were administered by injection once a week for 4 weeks starting from the third week. Rabbits were then sacrificed to observe the progression of OA-like lesion. The synovial fluid was analyzed for the amounts of total proteins, glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)). In addition, histopathologic analyses were performed on the OA-like articular cartilage with or without therapeutic treatments.

RESULTS:

The total synovial fluid volume (P<0.05) was most strikingly reduced by the treatment with CG. Moreover, the CG treatment also significantly alleviated the OA-induced accumulation of prostaglandin (PG) (P<0.001) and total proteins (P<0.001) in the synovial fluid. The histopathologic analyses revealed that the CG treatment reduced the severity of the OA-like structural damages in the cartilage. However, the level of PGE(2), a pathologic inflammatory molecule, was not diminished by CG or piroxicam.

CONCLUSION:

These results indicate that the isoflavonoid CG isolated from AR significantly alleviated the pathologic changes in the OA-like rabbit knee joints. This suggests that CG from AR could be a promising treatment for the therapy of OA.

• Authors: S I Choi, T R Heo, B-H Min, J H Cui, B H Choi, S R Park
• Journal: Osteoarthritis and cartilage (Osteoarthritis Cartilage) Vol. 15 Issue 9 Pg. 1086-92 (Sep 2007) ISSN: 1063-4584 [Print] England
• PMID: 17408983 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
• Glucosides
• Glycosaminoglycans
• Isoflavones
• Prostaglandins
• Proteins
• calycosin-7-O-glucopyranoside
• Piroxicam

Topics

• Animals
• Anterior Cruciate Ligament (surgery)
• Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal (therapeutic use)
• Astragalus Plant
• Cartilage, Articular (drug effects, metabolism)
• Disease Models, Animal
• Glucosides (isolation & purification, pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Glycosaminoglycans (metabolism)
• Isoflavones (isolation & purification, pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Menisci, Tibial (surgery)
• Osteoarthritis (drug therapy)
• Piroxicam (therapeutic use)
• Prostaglandins (metabolism)
• Proteins (analysis)
• Rabbits
• Random Allocation
• Synovial Fluid (chemistry, metabolism)