Ethnopharmacological communication Matrix degradation inhibitory effect of Schisandra fructus on human articular cartilage and chondrocytes

The purpose of this study is to assess the protective effects exerted by Schisandra fructus (SF) on hyaluronidase (HAase) and the recombinant human interleukin-1 (IL-1) induced matrix degradation in human articular cartilage and chondrocytes. The effect of SF on the matrix gene expression of immortalized chondrocyte cell line C-28/I2 treated with HAase was investigated using a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In addition, the effects of SFEA on HAase and IL-1 induced matrix degradation in human articular cartilage were assessed using a staining method, and the quantity of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) degraded was calculated from the cultured media. In HAase treatment group, the released GAGs content increased significantly to 15.8 ± 0.7g, compared with control levels (5.0 ± 0.2g), whereas co-treatment with SFEA (100g/ml) reduced the GAG release to 10.8 ± 0.7 g( P < 0.05). Also, in the group treated only with IL-1 (11.9 ± 0.3g), the amount of released GAG increased significantly compared to the control (7.9 ± 0.1g) and the SFEA-treated group (7.8 ± 0.4g). SFEA at 100g/ml inhibited PG degradation (9.0 ± 0.5g, P < 0.05). However, no concentration-dependent increases in inhibitory activity were observed. Therefore, since SFEA treatment resulted in no pathological impact on either the chondrocytes or cartilage, we suggest that SF can be safely used as an effective material for the prevention of proteoglycan (PG) degradation. © 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.