Cartilage Protection and Analgesic Activity of a Botanical Composition Comprised of Morus alba, Scutellaria baicalensis, and Acacia catechu

Abstract

Although there have been augmented advances in drug discovery, current OA management is inadequate due to the lack of successful therapies proven to be effective in modifying disease progression. For some, the risk outweighs the benefit. As a result, there is a desperate need for safe and efficacious natural alternatives. Here we evaluated a composition from Morus alba, Scutellaria baicalensis, and Acacia catechu in maintaining joint structural integrity and alleviating OA associated symptoms in monoiodoacetate- (MIA-) induced rat OA disease model. Study lasted for 6 weeks. 59.6%, 64.6%, 70.7%, 69.9%, and 70.3% reductions in pain sensitivity were observed for rats treated with the composition from week 1 to week 5, respectively. Statistically significant improvements in articular cartilage matrix integrity (maintained at 57.1% versus MIA + vehicle treated rats) were shown from the modified total Mankin score for animals treated with the composition. The composition showed a statistically significant reduction in uCTX-II level (54.1% reductions). The merit of combining these botanicals was also demonstrated in their synergistic analgesic activity. Therefore, the standardized blend of Morus alba, Scutellaria baicalensis, and Acacia catechu could potentially be considered as an alternative remedy from natural sources for the management of OA and/or its associated symptoms.

Scutellaria baicalensis Extract Alleviates Pain and Inflammation in Animal Models

“…In previous studies, SBE-related studies have focused on baicalin, baicalein, and wogonin, and among them, baicalein was the most studied. Baicalein has been reported to have antibacterial, antiviral, and antioxidant effects and inhibit inflammatory cytokines [11,13,14,[26][27][28][29]. Therefore, the present study agrees with previous studies that have investigated whether inflammatory cytokines were suppressed.…”

“…Baicalin significantly inhibited IL and NO in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells [26] and have anti-inflammatory action while suppressing the activations of TNF-a, MAPK, and NF-κB without inducing cytotoxicity [27,28]. In addition, the complex extract of S. baicalensis, Morus alba, and Acacia catechu showed improvement in pain and recovery of damaged cartilage and reduction of C-terminal telopeptide of type II collagen (CTX-II) in urine in MIA-induced knee OA mice [29].…”

Adjuvant drugs in management of osteoarthritis: spotlight on type II collagen

“…It has also been suggested to provide improvement in cartilage matrix integrity. 33 These effects probably have translated to clinical benefits. A study from Arjmandi et al reported that the combination of extracts from two plants was associated with significant reduction in perceived pain, stiffness and mean range of motion after one-week treatment.…”