EFFECTS OF D-003 ON FORMALDEHYDE-INDUCED OSTEOARTHRITIS IN RATS Research Article

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a syndrome that affects hundreds of millions around the world. The treatment of OA is addressed to pain alleviation and functional status improvement. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug are widely prescribed for OA, but produce gastrointestinal (non selective) and cardiovascular (ciclooxygenase–2 inhibitors) adverse effects. Then, the search for new substances is justified. D-003 is a mixture of higher aliphatic sugarcane wax acids with antiresorptive and antioxidants effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of D-003 on formaldehyde-induced OA in rats. OA Animals were orally dosed with either D-003 (100 and 400 mg/kg) or naproxen (NAP) (3 mg/kg), as reference drug. Controls comprised negative and vehicle-treated rats. Treatments were administered for 10 days. The effects were assessed by measuring the changes on the diameters of rat ankle and paw. The formaldehyde injection significantly increased the diameters of rat paw and ankle as compared to the negative control group, changes that were significantly decreased by naproxen. D-003 significantly reduced these increases as compared to the positive control and baseline. The effects of the highest doses were lower than that of NAP in the paw. D-003 (100 and 400 mg/kg) significantly decreased the formaldehyde-induced increases of rat paw and ankle enlargement.