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Home / Equine Research Bank / BMC Vet Res / Effects of oral treatment with chondroitin sulfate and gluco...
BMC veterinary research2022; 18(1); 215; doi: 10.1186/s12917-022-03323-3

Effects of oral treatment with chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine in an experimental model of metacarpophalangeal osteoarthritis in horses.

Abstract: Combined chondroitin sulfate (CS) and glucosamine (GlcN) has been widely used in oral formulations to prevent and treat osteoarthritis. CS is effective for controlling pain in osteoarthritic patients, whereas GlcN can stimulate glycosaminoglycan synthesis, thus reducing extracellular matrix degradation. Although several studies have been published on this topic, the effectiveness of treatment with oral CS and GlcN remains uncertain. The objective of this study was to analyze the progression of experimentally induced osteoarthritis in horses and verify the effectiveness of an oral compound based on CS and GlcN to treat and/or modulate this disease. The study analyzed the metacarpophalangeal joint of the left thoracic limb of 16 horses divided into two groups, with eight horses treated with CS and GlcN in the treated group (GT) and eight untreated horses in the control group (GC). Chondral lesions were induced through arthroscopy, which was defined as time-point zero (T0). Physical, ultrasonographic, and radiographic examinations and synovial fluid biomarkers measurements were performed on days 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120. At the end of the experiment (T4), arthroscopy was performed again to macroscopically evaluate the joints and collect material for microscopic analysis. Results: Significant differences were observed between groups in some evaluated parameters, such as visual lameness assessment, synovial concentrations of prostaglandin E2, and ultrasound examination. However, the GT still presented slightly improved results for joint flexion angle, analysis of lameness using sensors, and histopathological analysis of chondral repair tissue, however, without the statistical significance (p>0.05). Conclusions: The treatment was considered effective in the clinical modulation of experimental osteoarthritis, with improvement of some parameters in the GT. However, this type of treatment may not be entirely effective to change the catabolic process in articular cartilage and the progressive induced chondral damage.
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Publication Date: 2022-06-09 PubMed ID: 35681208PubMed Central: PMC9178899DOI: 10.1186/s12917-022-03323-3Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

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The research study investigates the impact of oral administration of a combined chondroitin sulfate (CS) and glucosamine (GlcN) compound on experimentally induced osteoarthritis in horses.

Objective of the Study

  • The primary aim of this study was to track the progression of osteoarthritis that was artificially induced in horses and study the effectiveness of an oral treatment containing CS and GlcN in managing and/or modulating this condition.

Research Methodology

  • The researchers used the left thoracic limb’s metacarpophalangeal joint in 16 horses. The horses were divided into two groups of eight each – the treated group (GT), who were given the CS and GlcN treatment, and the control group (GC) who remained untreated.
  • The onset of artificially induced chondral lesions was defined as time-point zero (T0). The evaluation of parameters such as physical, ultrasonographic, and radiographic examinations and synovial fluid biomarker measurements happened on days 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120.
  • The experiment culminated by performing arthroscopy again to evaluate the joints and gather material for microscopic analysis.

Results

  • The treated and control groups showed significant differences in some parameters, including visual lameness assessment, levels of prostaglandin E2 in synovial concentrations, and ultrasound examination results.
  • Although the treated group showed marginally improved results for joint flexion angle, sensor-based lameness analysis, and histopathological examination of chondral repair tissue, these improvements did not achieve statistical significance (p>0.05).

Conclusion

  • The study concluded that this treatment effectively modulated clinical osteoarthritis, as seen by the enhanced parameters in the treated group.
  • However, it may not be sufficient to alter the catabolic process in articular cartilage or prevent the progression of induced chondral damage.

Cite This Article

APA
Yamada ALM, do Prado Vendruscolo C, Marsiglia MF, Sotelo EDP, Agreste FR, Seidel SRT, Fülber J, Baccarin RYA, da Silva LCLC. (2022). Effects of oral treatment with chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine in an experimental model of metacarpophalangeal osteoarthritis in horses. BMC Vet Res, 18(1), 215. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-022-03323-3

Publication

BMC veterinary research
ISSN: 1746-6148
NlmUniqueID: 101249759
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 18
Issue: 1
Pages: 215
PII: 215

Researcher Affiliations

Yamada, Ana Lucia Miluzzi
  • Department of Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87. Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, CEP: 05508-270, Brazil. anamyamada@usp.br.
do Prado Vendruscolo, Cynthia
  • Department of Internal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87. Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, CEP: 05508-270, Brazil.
Marsiglia, Marília Ferrari
  • Department of Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87. Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, CEP: 05508-270, Brazil.
Sotelo, Eric Danilo Pauls
  • Department of Internal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87. Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, CEP: 05508-270, Brazil.
Agreste, Fernanda Rodrigues
  • Department of Internal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87. Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, CEP: 05508-270, Brazil.
Seidel, Sarah Raphaela Torquato
  • Department of Internal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87. Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, CEP: 05508-270, Brazil.
Fülber, Joice
  • Department of Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87. Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, CEP: 05508-270, Brazil.
Baccarin, Raquel Yvonne Arantes
  • Department of Internal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87. Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, CEP: 05508-270, Brazil.
da Silva, Luis Claudio Lopes Correia
  • Department of Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87. Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, CEP: 05508-270, Brazil.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Cartilage, Articular / pathology
  • Chondroitin Sulfates / pharmacology
  • Chondroitin Sulfates / therapeutic use
  • Glucosamine / pharmacology
  • Glucosamine / therapeutic use
  • Horse Diseases / metabolism
  • Horses
  • Lameness, Animal / metabolism
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Osteoarthritis / drug therapy
  • Osteoarthritis / pathology
  • Osteoarthritis / veterinary
  • Synovial Fluid / metabolism

Grant Funding

  • 2017/07255-5 / Fundau00e7u00e3o de Amparo u00e0 Pesquisa do Estado de Su00e3o Paulo

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Citations

This article has been cited 2 times.
  1. Muñoz JA, Martins TDS, Garbossa PLM, Pimentel LBF, Barbalho CB, da Silva MM, de Arruda AF, Baraldi-Artoni SM, Araújo CSDS, Pereira ASC. Bone development of broiler chickens supplemented with chondroitin sulfate and manganese. Vet Anim Sci 2025 Sep;29:100485.
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  2. Protity AT, Zhou S. Recent advancement of glucosamine and N-acetyl glucosamine production using microorganisms: A review. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2024 Dec 31;52.
    doi: 10.1093/jimb/kuaf014pubmed: 40424515google scholar: lookup
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