Hartog Anita, Smit H Friso, van der Kraan Peter M, Hoijer Maarten A, Garssen Johan
Danone Research, Centre for Specialised Nutrition, P.O. Box 7005, 6700 CA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2009 Jun;234(6):617-23. doi: 10.3181/0810-RM-298. Epub 2009 Mar 23.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease in which focal cartilage destruction is one of the primary features. The present study aims to evaluate the effect of a Centella asiatica fraction on in vitro and in vivo cartilage degradation. Bovine cartilage explants and bovine chondrocytes cultured in alginate were stimulated with IL-1 beta in the presence or absence of different concentrations (2, 5 and 10 microg/ml) of a standardized Centella asiatica triterpenes (CAT) fraction. The CAT fraction inhibited the IL-1 beta-induced proteoglycan (PG) release and nitric oxide (NO) production by cartilage explants in a dose-dependent manner. The IL-1 beta-induced reduction in PG synthesis and proliferation of chondrocytes cultured in alginate were counteracted by the CAT fraction at a concentration of 10 microg/ml. In a zymosan-induced acute arthritis model, the CAT fraction inhibited PG depletion without modulating joint swelling and inflammatory cell infiltration. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated for the first time that the tested Centella asiatica fraction was able to inhibit the zymosan-induced cartilage degradation in vivo without affecting the zymosan-induced inflammatory cell infiltration and joint swelling. The in vitro data indicate that the cartilage protective activity might at least partially be induced by the inhibition of NO production. The overall results indicate a possible disease modifying osteoarthritic activity of the Centella asiatica fraction.
骨关节炎（OA）是一种退行性关节疾病，其中局灶性软骨破坏是主要特征之一。本研究旨在评估积雪草提取物对体外和体内软骨降解的影响。在存在或不存在不同浓度（2、5和10微克/毫升）的标准化积雪草三萜（CAT）提取物的情况下，用白细胞介素-1β刺激牛软骨外植体和在藻酸盐中培养的牛软骨细胞。CAT提取物以剂量依赖的方式抑制白细胞介素-1β诱导的软骨外植体中蛋白聚糖（PG）释放和一氧化氮（NO）生成。在浓度为10微克/毫升时，CAT提取物抵消了白细胞介素-1β诱导的藻酸盐中培养的软骨细胞PG合成减少和增殖。在酵母聚糖诱导的急性关节炎模型中，CAT提取物抑制PG消耗，而不调节关节肿胀和炎性细胞浸润。总之，本研究首次证明，所测试的积雪草提取物能够在体内抑制酵母聚糖诱导的软骨降解，而不影响酵母聚糖诱导的炎性细胞浸润和关节肿胀。体外数据表明，软骨保护活性可能至少部分是由抑制NO生成诱导的。总体结果表明积雪草提取物可能具有改善骨关节炎疾病的活性。
