The inhibitory effects of rose hip (Rosa canina L.) water extracts from two different manufactures on osteoarthritis was comparatively investigated in primary cultures of rat cartilage cells. To identify the effects of rose hip extracts against H2O2 (300 μM, 2 hr) treatment, cell survival was measured by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol- 2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cell survival increased by rose hip extracts in the range of 100 to 600 μg/mL of H2O2 treatment. To determine the anti-inflammatory effects of rose hip extracts, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), nitric oxide (NO), and Cox-2 expression were measured after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activation. TNF-α level with rose hip extract treatment was decreased by 27.4% and 31.9% at 600 μg/mL of H2O2 treatment. Nitric oxide was inhibited by rose hip extract at 100～600 μg/mL of H2O2 treatment in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, Cox-2 protein expression was dose-dependently decreased while Cox-1 had no change in expression level. The severity of osteoarthritis is controlled by a balance between anabolic and catobolic factors in an articulation, therefore the expression of these factors plays a critical role in preventing osteoarthritis. In measuring anabolic factors, the genetic expression of collagen type I increased with rose hip treatment, while the genetic expression of collagen II did not change. In addition, the genetic expression of aggrecan (proteoglycan core protein) was significantly increased. while the genetic expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 3, 7 and 13, known catabolic factors, was significantly inhibited by treatment with rose hip extract. The expression of MMP13 was especially highly influenced. In conclusion, rose hip water extracts show inhibitory effects on cell death by H2O2 mediated oxidative stress, which is related to inhibitory effects on inflammation due to TNF-α, NO, and Cox-2. The ability of rose hip extracts to ameliorate inflammation in primary cultures of cartilage cells seems to associate with an increased genetic expression of specific anabolic factors, collagen type I and aggrecan, and a decreased expression of catabolic factors, MMPs (3, 7, and 13). However, there were no significant differences between rose hip extracts from the two manufacturers.

Keywords: Rosa canina L., osteoarthritis, primary culture, proteoglycan, MMPs