Rose hip alleviates pain and disease progression in rats with monoiodoacetate induced osteoarthritis

Abstract

Although rose hip administration reduces pain and stiffness in patients with osteoarthritis, the mechanism of rose hip to alleviate primary symptoms has not been investigated. We examined how two types of Rosa canina, grown in Denmark (I-Flex) and Coesam in Chile, attenuate the osteoarthritis symptoms in male rats with osteoarthritis. Therefore pain-related behaviors were evaluated, and histological changes and cytokine expression in the articular cartilage of right knee induced osteoarthritis were assessed via intra-articular monoiodoacetate (MIA) injection. The right knee induced swollen knee, limping legs, and disproportional weight distribution into the right hind paw, and reduced maximum velocity to run on a treadmill from day 3 after MIA injection. The symptoms were exacerbated up to about 2 weeks and remained steady until day 21. Overall the osteoarthritis symptoms in MIA-injected control rats did not significantly change over the experimental period. After 21 days, bone mineral density in right leg and knee had greatly decreased in rats injected with MIA. These symptoms were related to increased expression of matrix metalloprotinase (MMP)-3 and MMP-13 in articular cartilage that degraded collage and elevated the production of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. However, both types of rose hip markedly attenuated all of the symptoms experienced by the control and overall symptoms from day 3 were improved at day 21. However, some symptoms of osteoarthrit remained and there was no difference between both rose hips for alleviating osteoarthritis symptoms. In conclusion, rose hips from Denmark and Coesam in Chile are potential therapeutic agents for the protection of articular cartilage against progression of osteoarthritis.