Involvement of TLR4 in the protective effect of intra-articular administration of curcumin on rat experimental osteoarthritis

Yan D, He B, Guo J, Li S, Wang J · Acta Cirurgica Brasileira

Injected curcumin improved cartilage histology, reduced synovial inflammation and chondrocyte apoptosis, and suppressed TLR4 and downstream NF-kappaB in the joint.

Population

Rats with osteoarthritis induced by anterior cruciate ligament transection

Intervention

Intra-articular curcumin 50 microlitres at 1 mg/mL weekly for 8 weeks

Comparator

LPS-treated and untreated osteoarthritic knees

Limitations

Rat surgical model, and the delivery route is intra-articular injection — it bypasses the absorption problem that defines oral curcumin, so it says nothing about what a capsule can achieve.