Chondroprotective Effect of Campylaephora hypnaeoides Extract in Primary Chondrocytes and Rat OA Model

<i>Campylaephora hypnaeoides</i> (<i>C. hypnaeoides</i>) was extracted using fermented ethanol. The effect of fermented ethanol extract of <i>C. hypnaeoides</i> (FeCH) on chondrocyte viability was analyzed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-iphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, which showed no cytotoxicity at 2 mg/mL. FeCH pretreatment in IL-1β-stimulated chondrocytes significantly inhibited the accumulation of nitric oxide and prostaglandin E₂, which was analyzed using the ELISA assay. In addition, protein expression levels of inflammatory-related factors, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and cartilage-degrading-related enzymes, such as matrix metalloproteinases-1, -3, and -13, and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs-4 and -5 were significantly decreased in IL-1β-stimulated chondrocytes pretreated with FeCH, which were analyzed using western blot analysis. In addition, as a result of analyzing the content of collagen type II (Col II) and proteoglycan through western blot analysis and alcian blue staining, FeCH pretreatment prevented the degradation of Col II and proteoglycan. It was analyzed through western blot analysis that the chondroprotective effect of FeCH may be mediated through MAPKs and NF-κB-signaling mechanisms. In an in vivo study, an osteoarthritis experimental animal model with damaged medial meniscus (DMM) was utilized and orally administered daily for 8 weeks after surgery. At the study end point, knee joints were harvested and subjected to histological analysis with safranin O staining. As a result, articular cartilage was significantly protected in the FeCH group compared to the DMM group. These results suggest FeCH as a candidate material for the development of pharmaceutical materials for the treatment or prevention of degenerative arthritis.