본 연구는 MIA로 퇴행성관절염을 유도한 랫드에 방사선 형질전환 차조기가 골 대사 및 염증 반응에 미치는 효과를 평가하였다. 방사선 형질전환 차조기를 2주 동안 25, 50, 100 ㎎/㎏/day의 용량으로 경구 투여하고 랫드의 우측 관절 내 공간에 MIA를 주입하였다. 이후 동일한 용량을 4주 동안 지속 투여하였다. 혈청 바이오마커와 무릎 관절 분석의 형태학 및 조직병리학적 분석에 기초한 치료 효과를 평가하였다. 대조군 랫드와 비교하였을 때 방사선 형질전환 차조기는 혈청 내 염증 및 골 대사 마커(COX-2, LTB4, MMP-3, COMP)의 생성량을 유의하게 감소시켰다. 이와는 다르게 TIMP-1 및 calcitonin의 생성이 크게 증가하였다. 또한, 방사선 형질전환 차조기는 무릎 연골과 활막을 효과적으로 보존하였다. 그 결과, 방사선 형질전환 차조기는 퇴행성관절염 증상을 예방하고 완화였다. 따라서, 방사선 형질전환 차조기는 퇴행성관절염 관리를 위한 식·의약품 소재로 사용될 수 있다.

Royal jelly (RJ) is a gelatinous substance that bees produce to feed bees and queen bees. It’s frequently sold as a dietary supplement to treat a variety of physical ailments and chronic diseases. While it has long been used in traditional medicine, its applications in Western medicine remain controversial. The inhibitory effect of royal jelly on osteoarthritis was investigated in primary cultured rat cartilage cells and monosodium-iodoacetate (MIA)-induced arthritis rat model 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HAD) is the main fatty acid present in RJ. Among the criteria for RJ quality analysis, 10-HAD content has been proposed as a freshness parameter. We investigated the effect of RJ on the improvement of osteoarthritis on SD rats and they were divided into five groups. In this study, we examined the effect of enzymatic royal jelly (ERJ) administration on osteoarthritis. To determine the antiinflammatory effects of RJ, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression were measured after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activation in RAW 264.7 cells. In in vivo animal study, osteoarthritis was induced by intra-articular injection of MIA into knee joints of rats. As a results, ERJ showed that TNF-α and IL-6 levels were decreased by ERJ treatment in a dosedependent manner. In conclusion, ERJ extract was able to inhibit articular cartilage degeneration by preventing extracellular matrix degradation and cartilage cell damage. It was considered that ERJ extract may be a potential therapeutic treatment for degenerative osteoarthritis.

Lilium lancifolium (LL) is widely cultivated in East Asia and used to attenuate airway diseases. Our current study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of LL on pain level and inflammatory response in a rat model of monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis (OA). We first examined the effect of LL on inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators in IL-1β-treated HTB-94 cells. The LL extract was found to significantly inhibit the levels of Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-8 (IL-8), and prostaglandin-E2 (PGE-2) in Interleukin-1 β (IL-1β)-stimulated HTB-94 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, chronic oral administration of LL effectively restored the weight-bearing distribution in the rat model of MIA-induced OA. In addition, administration of LL inhibited inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), IL-6, leukotriene B4 (LTB-4), PGE-2, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). Our findings collectively suggested LL as one of the potential therapeutic agents for OA, owing to its properties of reducing pain and inflammatory responses.