Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial disease primarily noted by cartilage degradation in association with
inflammation that causes significant morbidity,
joint pain, stiffness, and limited mobility. Present-day management of OA is inadequate due to the lack of principal
therapies proven to be effective in hindering
disease progression where symptomatic
therapy focused approach masks the actual etiology leading to irreversible damage. Here, we describe the effect of UP3005, a composition containing a proprietary blend of two standardized extracts from the leaf of Uncaria gambir and the root bark of Morus alba, in maintaining joint structural integrity and alleviating OA associated symptoms in
monosodium-iodoacetate- (MIA-) induced rat OA disease model.
Pain sensitivity, micro-CT, histopathology, and
glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) level analysis were conducted.
Diclofenac at 10 mg/kg was used as a reference compound. UP3005 resulted in almost a complete inhibition in
proteoglycans degradation, reductions of 16.6% (week 4), 40.5% (week 5), and 22.0% (week 6) in
pain sensitivity, statistically significant improvements in articular cartilage matrix integrity, minimal visual subchondral bone damage, and statistically significant increase in bone mineral density when compared to the vehicle control with MIA. Therefore, UP3005 could potentially be considered as an alternative
therapy from natural sources for the treatment of OA and/or its associated symptoms.