HEALTH NEWS

Study Title:

Grape Seed Extract Reduces the Effects of Induced Arthritis

Study Abstract

To examine whether grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) which is known to act as an antioxidant has therapeutic effect on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice, an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis. Mice were treated with an intraperitoneal injection of GSPE (10, 50, or 100 mg/kg) or saline. Clinical, histological, and biochemical parameters were assessed. The effects of GSPE on osteoclastogenesis were determined by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining of the inflamed joints and bone-marrow cells cultured with the receptor activator of nuclear factor B ligand (RANKL) and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF). Intracellular levels of hydrogen peroxide were determined using carboxy-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate. GSPE treatment significantly attenuated the severity of CIA in a dose-dependent manner and reduced the histology scores for synovial inflammation, cartilage erosion, bone erosion, and the number of TRAP+ osteoclasts. GSPE treatment significantly reduced the numbers of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha)- or interleukin 17 (IL-17)-producing cells in the synovial tissue and the spontaneous production of TNF-alpha and IL-17 by splenocytes compared with those in the control mice. The serum levels of type-II-collagen-specific IgG2a and plasma levels of 8-isoprostane in the GSPE-treated mice were significantly lower than those in the control mice. GSPE dose-dependently suppressed osteoclastogenesis in vitro. GSPE significantly reduced hydrogen peroxide production by anti-CD3-monoclonal-antibody-stimulated CD4+ splenocytes. These results indicate that intraperitoneal injection of GSPE attenuated CIA in mice. GSPE may be useful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Study Information

Cho ML, Heo YJ, Park MK, Oh HJ, Park JS, Woo YJ, Ju JH, Park SH, Kim HY, Min JK.
Grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) attenuates collagen-induced arthritis.
Immunol Lett
2009 June
The Rheumatism Research Center, Catholic Research Institute of Medical Science, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, South Korea.