Effect of Fucoidan from Sargassum sp.

on joint
swelling and degree of pain in Osteoarthritis Rat

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a destructive joint disease affect more than half of the
world's population at the elderly and commonly manifest as chronic joint pain
and edema. This study aimed to investigate the potency of fucoidan from
Sargassum sp. in decreasing the degree of pain and joint swelling in
osteoarthritis. A Randomized Post Test Only Controlled Group Design was
performed on rat models of osteoarthritis divided into 9 groups: negative control,
positive control, A, B, C, D, E, F and G. The positive control and treatment groups
had been induced for osteoarthritis by injection of CFA in rats heel joint for 3
times in 2 weeks interval. Groups A, B and C were treated with fucoidan extract
20, 40 and 80 mg/kg, group D was treated with steroid treatment 10 mg/kg,
groups E,F and G were treated with combination of steroid and fucoidan at dose
that has been mentioned. It were given two times with two weeks interval. The
degree of pain and joint swelling were evaluated every week. One Way ANOVA
showed that the administration of fucoidan therapy is able to significantly reduce
joint pain and edema on rat models of osteoarthritis (p <0.05). Moreover,
response to the fucoidan therapy also showed better outcomes than the use of
steroid injections as one commonly used in osteoarthritis. These findings suggest
that administration of fucoidan can significantly improved osteoarthritis
symptoms after serial intraarticular injection. Thus, it may have therapeutic
value for the treatment of osteoarthritis.
Keywords: osteoarthritis, fucoidan, joint pain, edema