A recent study has revealed that punicalagin could be used in osteoarthritis treatment.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and affects millions of people worldwide. It occurs when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of the bones wears down over time. Although osteoarthritis can damage any joint, the disorder most commonly affects the joints of the hands, knees, hips, and spine.
Previous reports indicate that punicalagin attenuates the inflammatory response in neuronal or testicular damage. Moreover, this compound extracted from pomegranate could mitigate the cartilage protein degradation and inflammatory response in an arthritis rat model. However, the role and mechanism of punicalagin in osteoarthritis progression remain poorly understood.
Recently, FeiFei Liu and co-workers at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in China have analyzed the effect of punicalagin on the progression of this common form of arthritis in cells of cartilage tissue called chondrocytes and also in a rat model. They have demonstrated that punicalagin attenuates osteoarthritis progression both in vitro and in vivo. This research provides a novel insight into the pharmacological mechanism of punicalagin in regulating chondrocyte damage and indicates the clinical value of this natural product in osteoarthritis treatment.
Article: Punicalagin attenuates osteoarthritis progression via regulating Foxo1/Prg4/HIF3α axis. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bone.2021.116070