Effect of Polycalcium, a mixture of Polycan and calcium lactate-gluconate in a 1:9 weight ratio, on rats with surgery-induced osteoarthritis.

In the present study, the beneficial and synergistic effects of Polycalcium, a mixture of Polycan and calcium (Ca) lactate-gluconate in a 1:9 weight ratio, on a rat model of osteoarthritis (OA) were explored. Polycalcium (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) was administered orally once per day for 28 days from 1 week after the OA-modeling surgery. Diclofenac sodium (2 mg/kg) was administered as a reference drug. Following the OA surgery, increases in the maximum extension angles, edematous changes in knee and capsule thickness, reductions in chondrocyte proliferation and cartilage glycosaminoglycan (GAG) levels, as well as changes in cartilage degeneration were observed. However, these OA-related symptoms were inhibited after 28 days of continuous oral treatment with Polycalcium. Anti-OA effects, including the induction of chondrocyte proliferation, were detected in the Polycalcium-treated rats and were more favorable compared with those in rats treated with Polycan or Ca lactate-gluconate alone (100 mg). Therefore, a mixture of Polycan and Ca lactate-gluconate was demonstrated to have beneficial synergistic effects on OA.