Oral glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate on synovial fluid biomarkers from osteoarthritic equine joints

ABSTRACT: Several studies, mainly in vitro, have shown that chondroitin sulfate (CS) and glucosamine (GlcN) do have chondro protective and anti-inflammatory actions. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether oral CS/GlcN supplementation has effects on the CS, hyaluronic acid (HA) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) concentrations on synovial fluid of equine osteoarthritic joints. Horses with mild osteoarthritis (OA) in tibiotarsal joint received daily PO doses of CS and GlcN (2.8/3.1 g) for 25 days. Synovial fluid (SF) and urine samples were collected before treatment (day 0), and every 7 days, until day 55 (30 days after the end of treatment). Urinary CS increased upon oral treatment, indicating that this compound was systemically distributed. Concerning the SF, CS concentration increased after the end of the treatment and returning to baseline afterwards, while HA and PGE2 concentrations did not change. Despite the systemic distribution, oral supplementation of CS/GlcNfor 25 days was insufficient as an anti-inflammatory support. However, it is possible to infer that there was an anabolic effect upon cartilage matrix.

摘要：多项主要基于体外实验的研究已证实，硫酸软骨素（chondroitin sulfate, CS）与氨基葡萄糖（glucosamine, GlcN）具备明确的软骨保护与抗炎活性。本研究旨在探究口服补充CS/GlcN是否会对马骨关节炎（osteoarthritis, OA）关节滑液（synovial fluid, SF）中的CS、透明质酸（hyaluronic acid, HA）及前列腺素E2（prostaglandin E2, PGE2）浓度产生影响。选取胫跗关节患有轻度骨关节炎的马匹作为研究对象，每日经口给予CS与GlcN（剂量分别为2.8 g与3.1 g），连续给药25天。分别于治疗前（第0天）以及此后每7天采集滑液与尿液样本，直至第55天（即治疗结束后30天）。口服给药期间，尿液中CS水平升高，提示该化合物可实现全身分布。就滑液而言，CS浓度在治疗结束后出现升高，随后恢复至基线水平；而HA与PGE2浓度未发生明显变化。尽管CS/GlcN可实现全身分布，但连续25天口服补充CS/GlcN不足以发挥抗炎支持作用。不过可以推断，该口服补充方案对软骨基质产生了合成代谢效应。