The Role of Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) Nuts on an Experimental Model of Painful Degenerative Joint Disease

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is a progressive joint disease characterized by the activation of different molecular mediators, including proinflammatory cytokines, reactive oxygen species, metalloproteinases and nociceptive mediators. Anacardium occidentale L. is a medicinal plant with anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study we evaluate the effects of cashew nuts (from Anacardium occidentale L.) oral administration on an experimental model of painful degenerative joint disease. Monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) was intraarticularly injected, and cashew nuts were orally administered three times per week for 21 days, starting the third day after MIA injection. Nociception was evaluated by a Von Frey filament test, and motor function by walking track analysis at 3, 7, 14 and 21 days after osteoarthritis. Histological and biochemical alteration were examined at the end of the experiment. Cashew nuts administration reduced pain-like behavior and showed antioxidant activities, restoring biochemical serum parameters: glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT) levels, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity and lipid peroxidation. Moreover, cashew nuts ameliorated radiographic and histological alteration, resulting in decreased cartilage degradation, pro-inflammatory cytokines and metalloproteinases levels and mast cells recruitment. Our results demonstrated that the oral assumption of cashew nuts counteracts the inflammatory and oxidative process involved in osteoarthritis.

Consumption of Anacardium occidentale L. (Cashew Nuts) Inhibits Oxidative Stress through Modulation of the Nrf2/HO−1 and NF-kB Pathways

“…In agreement with the chemical composition of West Africa cashew [ 15 ], cashews contain a high proportion of lipid (44.19%), followed by carbohydrate (35.43%) expressed as sum of soluble sugars and fiber and protein (22.46%). The total phenolic content, expressed as mg/100 g of sample, was higher (80.01) compared to what was reported in our previous work for West Africa cashews (69.64) [ 22 ].…”

“…Well-known antioxidants such as quercetin, curcumin, and vitamin C protect against I/R injury [ 30 , 31 ], proposing that natural sources of antioxidants may be useful to treat this issue. Previous studies from our laboratory showed the antioxidant properties of cashew nuts in experimental model of colitis and osteoarthritis [ 15 , 22 ]. In particular, these studies showed cashew nuts’ ability to alleviate the clinical signs, pain perception, histological damage, and molecular mediators involved in these diseases.…”

“…All sections were washed with PBS and then treated as previously reported [ 61 ]. Stained sections from each mouse were scored in a blinded fashion and observed using a Leica DM6 microscope (Leica Microsystems SpA, Milan, Italy) following a typical procedure [ 22 ]. The histogram profile is related to the positive pixel intensity value obtained [ 15 ].…”

“…Recent studies showed that the cashew nuts have cardioprotective properties [ 18 ], have cholesterol-lessening effect [ 19 ], and decrease the inflammatory mediators [ 20 ]. In particular, cashew nuts have elevated nutritional importance: they can modulate risk of cardiovascular issues, metabolic syndrome [ 21 ], chronic inflammatory bowel disorders [ 15 ], and painful degenerative joint disease [ 22 ]. The positive effects of natural antioxidant compound such as bergamot juice [ 23 ], glycyrrhizin [ 24 ], green tea [ 25 ], Himanthalia elongata [ 26 ], thymoquinone, and melatonin [ 27 ] have been also described.…”

Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma Translocation 1 Inhibitor as a Novel Therapeutic Tool for Lung Injury

“…All sections were washed with PBS and then treated as previously reported [ 50 ]. Stained sections from each mouse were scored in a blinded fashion and observed using a Leica DM6 microscope (Leica Microsystems SpA) following a typical procedure [ 51 ]. The histogram profile is related to the positive pixel intensity value obtained [ 52 ].…”