Protective Effects of a Mixed Medicinal Herb Extract (NUC1) on Collagenase-Induced Osteoarthritis in Rabbits

This study investigated the therapeutic effects of NUC1 on osteoarthritis (OA). The protective effect of NUC1 on OA was tested in a rabbit model of collagenase-induced arthritis (CIA) for 4 weeks. Results were compared among four groups (n = 9 per group): the normal group (untreated), the CIA group (vehicle control), the NUC1 group (CIA rabbits treated with 200 mg/kg NUC1), and the JOINS group (positive control, CIA rabbits treated with 200 mg/kg JOINS tablet). NUC1 significantly inhibited NO production (p < 0.05 at 125 μg/mL, p < 0.01 at 250 μg/mL, and p < 0.001 at 500 μg/mL) and iNOS expression in macrophages, in a concentration-dependent manner. NUC1 also inhibited the release and protein expression of MMP-1, 3, and 13, in TNF-α-induced chondrosarcoma cells in a concentration-dependent manner. In vivo, the MMP-1 and MMP-3 levels in synovial fluids were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in NUC1 group (77.50 ± 20.56 and 22.50 ± 7.39 pg/mL, respectively) than in the CIA group (148.33 ± 68.58 and 77.50 ± 20.46 pg/mL, respectively). Also, in histopathological, NUC1 ameliorated articular cartilage damage in OA by increasing the abundance of chondrocytes and proteoglycan in the articular cartilage. Thus, NUC1 showed promise as a potential therapeutic agent, and it can be generalized to a broader study population in different OA animal models.PMID:37482815 | DOI:10.4014/jmb.2303.03044
Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology - Category: Biotechnology Authors: Source Type: research