Effect of Kaempferia parviflora extract on knee osteoarthritis.

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is becoming more prevalent worldwide due to increases in the numbers of elderly and obese patients. Currently, pharmaceutical medicines used for the treatment of OA are for symptomatic therapy and therefore new therapeutic agents are needed. Kaempferia parviflora (KP) is a plant growing naturally in Southeast Asia and has various pharmacological effects including an anti-inflammatory effect, but no effect on OA has yet been reported. We therefore conducted a search for the effects KP and the active components of KP extract (KPE) exert on OA as well as its mechanism of action. Results from a study of KPE using the monoiodoacetic acid rat OA model revealed that KPE reduced the pain threshold and severity of osteoarthritic cartilage lesions. The mechanism of action and active components were then investigated using IL-1ß-treated human knee-derived chondrocytes. KPE, as well as 5,7-dimethoxyflavone and 5,7,4'-trimethoxyflavone, which are key constituents of KPE and highly absorbable into the body, reduced the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which are the main extracellular matrix enzymes that degrade collagen within cartilage. As mentioned above, KPE acted to suppress OA and 5,7-dimethoxyflavone and 5,7,4'-trimethoxyflavone were shown to be involved as part of KPE's mechanism that inhibits MMPs.

Efficacy of Kaempferia parviflora in a mouse model of obesity-induced dermatopathy.

Obesity results from excessive energy intake and physical inactivity, and predisposes one to various diseases. One of these reasons is that enlargement of adipocytes raises the lipid metabolic abnormalities that affect various organs. The skin is one such organ, and it has been reported that subcutaneous adipocyte cells secrete various factors and these factors are involved in reduction of dermal collagen fibers and fragility of the skin in obesity. The present study explored the efficacy of Kaempferia parviflora (KP) in preventing obesity-induced dermatopathy. We used Tsumura Suzuki obese diabetes (TSOD) mice as an obesity model. TSOD mice were fed a standard diet (MF) mixed with either an ethanol extract from KP (KPE), polymethoxyflavonoid-rich extract from KP (PMF), or polymethoxyflavonoid-poor extract from KP (X). We then evaluated the effect of these three KP fractions on aging-like skin damage induced by UVB irradiation. KPE and PMF caused a significant decrease of mouse body weight, and suppressed the increase in the thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer. In addition, KPE shifted the frequency of subcutaneous adipocyte sizes towards smaller cells possibly via its polypharmacological actions. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the stereostructure of the collagenous fibers in the dermis was better retained in the KPE and PMF groups, in that order. These results offer the first evidence that KPE can attenuate obesity-induced dermatopathy more effectively than PMF, suggesting that KPE (or KP) might be a candidate supplement for preventing obesity-related skin disorders.