Saliva plebeia ameliorates articular carttilage degration of osteoarthritis induced rats

Abstract

Abstract Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent articular disease in the elderly. The process is characterized by changes in the structure and function of the articulation, mainly due to a degeneration that takes place in the articular cartilage (AC). OA is characterized by destruction of AC and is the most common clinical syndrome of joint pain accompanied by varying degrees of functional limitation and reduced quality of life. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of Saliva plebeia (SP) on AC degration of osteoarthritis induced rats. Salvia plebeia R.Br is an annual or biennial plant that grows in numerous countries, including Korea, China, and India. It is used as a traditional medicine to treat inflammatory diseases. The active components of SP comprise flavonoids, diterpenoids, and lignin. It is considered that appropriate treatment of SP inhibits surgical-induced OA through anti-inflammatory and AC preserve effects. In the histopathological observation, OA control rats showed marked increases of surface cartilage damages and clone formations, and decreases of chondrocytes and Safranin O stain intensities on the both femur and tibia AC. Significant increases of the Mankin scores were detected in surgical-induced OA control rats as compared with those of normal control rats. However, SP significantly improved surface cartilage damages, Mankin scores, mean femur and tibia AC thicknesses, and inflammatory cell numbers. It is expected that SP may be used as a novel potent therapeutic regime for various OA though detail mechanism studies should be needed in near future.