Cyanidin ameliorates the progression of osteoarthritis via the Sirt6/NF-κB axis in vitro and in vivo

Jiang C, Sun ZM, Hu JN, Jin Y, Guo Q, Xu JJ, Chen ZX, Jiang RH, Wu YS · Food & Function

The clearest cartilage-specific evidence for a cherry constituent. In human OA chondrocytes cyanidin suppressed NO, PGE2, TNF-α, IL-6, iNOS, COX-2, ADAMTS5 and MMP13 and reduced loss of aggrecan and collagen II; silencing Sirt6 abolished the effect, placing the mechanism on the Sirt6/NF-κB axis. In DMM mice it slowed OA progression.

Population

Human OA chondrocytes stimulated with IL-1β, plus destabilization-of-the-medial-meniscus (DMM) mice

Intervention

Cyanidin, the principal anthocyanin of cherries and dark berries

Comparator

Untreated IL-1β-stimulated cells; untreated DMM mice

Limitations

Cell and mouse work. Doses applied directly to cells are not doses reachable by eating cherries — the pharmacokinetic study in this same shard shows plasma anthocyanin concentrations orders of magnitude lower.