ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effects of curcumin on sodium iodide-induced osteoarthritis (OA) rats. Methods: Thirty-six rats were randomly divided into three experimental groups: control group, model group (OA+DMSO) and treatment group (OA+DMSO + curcumin). A knee OA rat model was established in the right knee joint cavity of male Sprague-Dawley rats with a single injection of monoiodoacetic acid (MIA). The control group was injected with the same volume of normal saline. Three days later, the treatment group was treated with intraperitoneal injection of curcumin, and the model group was injected with the same volume of DMSO. The rats in each group were observed for 2 weeks and 3 weeks after the swelling of the knee joint and the hind paw retraction test. The knee joint cartilage specimens were taken, and the femoral condyle and tibial plateau were observed under a dissecting microscope and the Pelletier scoring was performed. Sections were frozen and subjected to HE, toluidine blue, safranin O staining and Mankin scoring. Results: The model group had severe cartilage defects, rough surface, synovial hyperplasia with inflammatory changes, and osteophytes. The articular cartilage of the curcumin group was obviously repaired, and the cartilage surface was relatively smooth with no obvious hyperplasia and callus. There was a significant difference between the model group and the treatment group in Pelletier score and Mankin score (P<0.05). Conclusion :Curcumin can slow the degradation of articular cartilage, repair damaged articular cartilage, and reduce inflammation. This experiment provides an experimental basis and evidence for curcumin as a potential clinical drug for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.