Comparative effects of ginger root (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) on the production of inflammatory mediators in normal and osteoarthrotic sow chondrocytes.

Ginger root was previously demonstrated to exert anti-arthritic effects in sow cartilage explants. This study further investigated the comparative effects of ginger root extract (GRE) on the production of inflammatory mediators, including nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), in normal chondrocytes (NC) and osteoarthrotic chondrocytes (OC) isolated from sow cartilage explants. The sow chondrocyte cells were isolated and grown in Ham's F-12/Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and 1% antibiotics. GRE was then added at different concentrations (0-2,000 microg/mL), and the cells were allowed to grow for 24 hours in the presence of cytokine inducer. The culture media were collected and assayed for NO by the Griess reaction and for PGE2 by radioimmunoassay. When GRE was not used, the NC had lower PGE2 and NO than the OC. With GRE treatment, both PGE2 and NO decreased linearly in both the NC and the OC. As GRE concentrations increased, the rate of PGE(2) decrease was the same in the NC and the OC, whereas the rate of NO decrease was greater for the OC than for the NC. Collectively, OC produce more inflammatory mediators than do NC, and the production of inflammatory mediators was reduced when GRE was added to both the OC and the NC. The inhibitory effects of GRE on NO and PGE2 production by sow OC observed in this study suggest an important role for GRE as an anti-arthritic agent.