Pain Controlling and Cytokine-regulating Effects of Lyprinol, a Lipid Extract of Perna Canaliculus, in a Rat Adjuvant-induced Arthritis Model

The Anti-Inflammatory and the Antinociceptive Effects of Mixed Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb. and Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge Extract

Arthritis is a common condition that causes pain and inflammation in a joint. Previously, we reported that the mixture extract (ME) from Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb. (AP) and Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (SM) could ameliorate gout arthritis. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the potential anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of ME and characterize the mechanism. We compared the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of a positive control, Perna canaliculus powder (PC). The results showed that one-off and one-week treatment of ME reduced the pain threshold in a dose-dependent manner (from 10 to 100 mg/kg) in the mono-iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis (OA) model. ME also reduced the plasma TNF-α, IL-6, and CRP levels. In LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, ME inhibited the release of NO, PGE₂, LTB₄, and IL-6, increased the phosphorylation of PPAR-γ protein, and downregulated TNF-α and MAPKs proteins expression in a concentration-dependent (from 1 to 100 µg/mL) manner. Furthermore, ME ameliorated the progression of ear edema in mice. In most of the experiments, ME-induced effects were almost equal to, or were higher than, PC-induced effects. Conclusions: The data presented here suggest that ME shows anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities, indicating ME may be a potential therapeutic for arthritis treatment.

The Preventive Effects of Greenshell Mussel (Perna canaliculus) on Early-Stage Metabolic Osteoarthritis in Rats with Diet-Induced Obesity

The prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) is rising worldwide, with the most pronounced increase being in the category of metabolic-associated osteoarthritis (MetOA). This is predicted to worsen with the global rise in aging societies and obesity. To address this health burden, research is being conducted to identify foods that can reduce the incidence or severity of MetOA. Oil from the Greenshell mussel (Perna canaliculus) (GSM), a native New Zealand shellfish, has been successfully used to reduce OA symptoms. The current study assessed the effect of including flash-dried powder from whole GSM meat as part of a normal (control) versus high-fat/high-sugar (HFHS) diet for 13 weeks on the development of MetOA in rats. Rats fed a HFHS diet developed metabolic dysregulation and obesity with elevated plasma leptin and HbA1C concentrations. Visible damage to knee joint cartilage was minimal, but plasma levels of C telopeptide of type II collagen (CTX-II), a biomarker of cartilage degradation, were markedly higher in HFHS-fed rats compared to control-fed rats. However, rats fed the HFHS diet containing GSM had significantly reduced serum CTX-II. Inclusion of GSM in rats fed the control diet also lowered CTX-II. These findings suggest that dietary GSM can reduce the incidence or slow the progression of early MetOA.

Testing the Neuroprotective Properties of PCSO-524® Using a Neuronal Cell Cycle Suppression Assay

Cell cycle reentry is a unified mechanism shared by several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Ataxia Telangiectasia (A-T). This phenotype is often related to neuroinflammation in the central nervous system. To mimic brain inflammation in vitro, we adopted the previously established method of using conditioned medium collected from activated THP-1 cells and applied it to both differentiated HT22 cells and primary neurons. Unscheduled cell cycle events were observed in both systems, indicating the potential of this approach as an in vitro model of neurodegenerative disease. We used this assay to measure the neuroprotective effects of New Zealand green-lipped mussel extract, PCSO-524^®, to protect post-mitotic cells from cell cycle reentry. We found that, both in vitro and in an animal model, PCSO-524^® displayed promising neuroprotective effects, and thus has potential to postpone or prevent the onset of neurodegenerative disease.

Greenshell™ Mussels: A Review of Veterinary Trials and Future Research Directions

The therapeutic benefits of Greenshell™ mussel (GSM; Perna canaliculus) preparations have been studied using in vitro test systems, animal models, and human clinical trials focusing mainly on anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic effects. Activity is thought to be linked to key active ingredients that include omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, a variety of carotenoids and other bioactive compounds. In this paper, we review the studies that have been undertaken in dogs, cats, and horses, and outline new research directions in shellfish breeding and high-value nutrition research programmes targeted at enhancing the efficacy of mussel and algal extracts. The addition of GSM to animal diets has alleviated feline degenerative joint disease and arthritis symptoms, and chronic orthopaedic pain in dogs. In horses, GSM extracts decreased the severity of lameness and joint pain and provided improved joint flexion in limbs with lameness attributed to osteoarthritis. Future research in this area should focus on elucidating the key active ingredients in order to link concentrations of these active ingredients with their pharmacokinetics and therapeutic effects. This would enable consistent and improved efficacy from GSM-based products for the purpose of improved animal health.

Green lipped mussel oil complex suppresses lipopolysaccharide stimulated inflammation via regulating nuclear factor-κB and mitogen activated protein kinases signaling in RAW264.7 murine macrophages

Here we investigated the effect of green lipped mussel oil complex (GLMOC) on inflammation and underlying mechanism in lipopolysaccharide stimulated RAW264.7 murine macrophage cells. GLMOC containing green lipped mussel oil (GLMO), olive oil, and vitamin E (10:20:1) can induce significant suppression of iNOS, leading to reduced nitric oxide synthesis, and cyclooxygenase-2, leading to reduced prostaglandin E2 synthesis. In addition, it down-regulated the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1β. Similar to upstream signaling mediators, GLMCO inhibited the degradation of inhibitory κB, nuclear translocation of NF-κB, and phosphorylation of mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in a dose-dependent manner. Among the components of GLMOC, GLMO was responsible for anti-inflammatory efficacy. Taken together, GLMOC induces anti-inflammatory activity via regulating NF-κB and MAPK signaling in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 cells, providing underlying mechanisms that elucidate the anti-inflammatory efficacy of GLMOC.

A GC-MS Based Metabonomics Study of Rheumatoid Arthritis and the Interventional Effects of the Simiaowan in Rats

Simiaowan (SMW) is a famous Chinese prescription widely used in clinical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of the present study is to determine novel biomarkers to increase the current understanding of RA mechanisms, as well as the underlying therapeutic mechanism of SMW, in RA-model rats. Plasma extracts from control, RA model, and SMW-treated rats were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). An orthogonal partial least-square discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) model was created to detect metabolites that were expressed in significantly different amounts between the RA model and the control rats and investigate the therapeutic effect of SMW. Metabonomics may prove to be a valuable tool for determining the efficacy of complex traditional prescriptions.

Detailed distribution of lipids in Greenshell™ mussel (Perna canaliculus)

Greenshell™ mussels (GSM-Perna canaliculus) are a source of omega-3 (n-3) long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA). Farmed GSM are considered to be a sustainable source of LC-PUFA as they require no dietary inputs, gaining all of their oil by filter-feeding microorganisms from sea water. GSM oil is a high-value product, with a value as much as 1000 times that of fish oils. GSM oil has important health benefits, for example, anti-inflammatory activity. It also contains several minor lipid components that are not present in most fish oil products, and that have their own beneficial effects on human health. We have shown the lipid content of the female GSM (1.9 g/100 g ww) was significantly greater than that of the male (1.4 g/100 g ww). Compared with male GSM, female GSM contained more n-3 LC-PUFA, and stored a greater proportion of total lipid in the gonad and mantle. The higher lipid content in the female than the male GSM is most likely related to gamete production. This information will be useful to optimize extraction of oils from GSM, a local and sustainable source of n-3 LC-PUFA.

Lyprinol-is it a useful anti-inflammatory agent?

The New Zealand green lipped mussel preparation Lyprinol is available without a prescription from a supermarket, pharmacy or Web. The Food and Drug Administration have recently warned Lyprinol USA about their extravagant anti-inflammatory claims for Lyprinol appearing on the web. These claims are put to thorough review. Lyprinol does have anti-inflammatory mechanisms, and has anti-inflammatory effects in some animal models of inflammation. Lyprinol may have benefits in dogs with arthritis. There are design problems with the clinical trials of Lyprinol in humans as an anti-inflammatory agent in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, making it difficult to give a definite answer to how effective Lyprinol is in these conditions, but any benefit is small. Lyprinol also has a small benefit in atopic allergy. As anti-inflammatory agents, there is little to choose between Lyprinol and fish oil. No adverse effects have been reported with Lyprinol. Thus, although it is difficult to conclude whether Lyprinol does much good, it can be concluded that Lyprinol probably does no major harm.

Beyond conventional DMARDs: extending TNF-regulant therapies to the vast majority/less privileged who do need them

This article is a plea to find (better) ways to extend the benefits of anti-cytokine therapies to ensure they will become available as widely as possible. Pessimistically, this will probably involve substituting more affordable, although somewhat less specific, non-biological agents for present target-specific bio-DMARDs (disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs) to ensure far wider distribution of benefits. Optimistically, new developments in technology and bio-engineering might dramatically reduce costs of present 'biological' therapies. (The antibiotics we now take for granted were once also horrendously expensive.). Pragmatically, one goal for this mission should include seriously pursuing more research and pilot clinical trials of non-protein combination therapies able to control: (i) TNF or other pro-inflammatory cytokines; and also (ii) other mediators sustaining chronic inflammation (-->pain, effusion, fibrosis, porosis, etc.). This can be immediately facilitated by drawing upon the immense resources of non-prescription Asia-Pacific traditional therapies--particularly when these have already been shown to either reduce TNF synthesis or control TNF-induced responses in preclinical studies. Could this be a major goal for the next decade, helping rectify some of the omissions of the current Bone & Joint Decade 2000-2010?