Synergistic chondroprotective effects of curcumin and resveratrol in human articular chondrocytes: inhibition of IL-1beta-induced NF-kappaB-mediated inflammation and apoptosis

Csaki C, Mobasheri A, Shakibaei M · Arthritis Research & Therapy

The two polyphenols reach NF-kappaB by different routes, and this paper is where that was shown in chondrocytes: curcumin completely suppressed IL-1beta-induced IKK activation while leaving the proteasome untouched, and resveratrol blocked IkappaB-alpha phosphorylation, ubiquitination and degradation while leaving IKK untouched. In combination they suppressed COX-2, MMP-3, MMP-9 and VEGF, restored Bcl-2, Bcl-xL and TRAF1, and blocked caspase-3 activation. The comparison against each compound alone was run for collagen type II and Sox-9, where the pair raised expression above either single agent; the inflammatory and matrix-degrading proteins were tested with the combination only.

Population

IL-1beta-stimulated human articular chondrocytes

Intervention

Curcumin and resveratrol, alone and combined

Comparator

IL-1beta alone and single-agent treatment

Limitations

Monolayer chondrocytes from non-arthritic femoral heads at 50 microM of each compound, far above anything an oral dose reaches. No formal synergy analysis was performed — 'synergistic' is the authors' description of a combination that outperformed single agents on two of the proteins measured. The combination has never been tested in a human joint.