Abstract
It is estimated that by 2023, approximately 20% of the population of Western Europe and North America will suffer from a degenerative joint disease commonly known as osteoarthritis (OA). During the development of OA, pro-inflammatory cytokines are one of the major causes that drive the production of inflammatory mediators and thus of matrix-degrading enzymes. OA is a challenging disease for doctors due to the limitation of the joint cartilage’s capacity to repair itself. Though new treatment approaches, in particular with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that integrate the tissue engineering (TE) of cartilage tissue, are promising, they are not only expensive but more often do not lead to the regeneration of joint cartilage. Therefore, there is an increasing need for novel, safe, and more effective alternatives to promote cartilage joint regeneration and TE. Indeed, naturally occurring phytochemical compounds (herbal remedies) have a great anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anabolic potential, and they have received much attention for the development of new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including the prevention of age-related OA and cartilage TE. This paper summarizes recent research on herbal remedies and their chondroinductive and chondroprotective effects on cartilage and progenitor cells, and it also emphasizes the possibilities that exist in this research area, especially with regard to the nutritional support of cartilage regeneration and TE, which may not benefit from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
Highlights
About 200 joint diseases are characterized by the term “osteoarthritis” (OA), known as degenerative joint disease (DJD)
Demonstrated the excellent adhesion rate and growth behavior of chondrocytes in in vitro cartilage cell proliferation experiments with a highly porous 3D scaffold based on cell-responsive polymeric inks, i.e., sodium alginate and gelatin (SA-Gel, 1:3 ratio), by a novel 3D printing method, and they found the porous architectures facilitated the efficient distribution of chondrocytes with only a few remaining on the surface
Ica is an accelerant of growth factors for cartilage tissue engineering (TE) by promoting chondrogenesis of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) but not hypertrophy
Summary
About 200 joint diseases are characterized by the term “osteoarthritis” (OA), known as degenerative joint disease (DJD). In the attempt to refine and improve TE approaches for cartilage tissue and to find new, better, safer, and cheaper alternatives, attention has been drawn to natural, non-toxic, and anabolic active components from nature [34,35,36,37] In traditional medicine, such as Ayurveda medicine (the science of long life) or traditional Chinese and Indian medicine, herbal remedies have been used for centuries to treat many diseases, including joint diseases. The use of herbal remedies and their derivatives to treat joint problems, including OA, has become widely accepted in modern Western medicine due to their proven anabolic, anti-inflammatory, health, and medical benefits [38,39,40,41,42].
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