Therapeutic application of a flavonoid apigenin in experimentally induced osteoarthritis rabbit model

초록

In the present study using experimental OA rabbit model, we found that administration of apigenin a flavonoid known to inhibit both COX-2 and iNOS pathways, recovered significantly the decrease of cartilage volumes and decreased inflammatory reactions. Apigenin (~80μM/ once a week for one month) injected directly into the OA joint decreased significantly synovial fluid volume, total protein contents, proteoglycan and collagen contents within joint fluid, and improved the Mankin’s scoring. Furthermore, the markedly elevated concentration of NO2- and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in the joint fluid of OA was also decreased significantly by the apigenin administration. Histochemical results showed clear recovery from the severely impaired cartilage and synovial membranes. While the chondro-regenerative effect of apigenin cannot be fully explained, the synergistic effects observed in anti-inflammation and chondro-regeneration makes apigenin as an attractive compound that can be useful both in prevention and therapy of OA. These results suggest that apigenin can serve as a therapeutically effective medicine in the treatment of OA.