A product made with avocado and soybean oils could slow down and help repair some of the damage caused by osteoarthritis, suggests laboratory research.
The product Piascledine, developed by French firm Laboratoires Expanscience, significantly boosted the production of aggrecan, a key component of cartilage, after nine days of treatment, reported researchers from University Hospital in Liege, Belgium in the August issue of the Journal of Rheumatology.
While the individual avocado and soybean components also enhanced aggrecan production, only Piascledine restored aggrecan synthesis blocked by the inflammation-causing compound interleukin-1-beta.
For the study osteoarthritic chondrocytes, taken from human joints, were cultured in alginate beads for 12 days, both in the presence of interleukin 1-beta and without. The researchers tested the effect of the commercial compound, made up of one-third avocado and two-thirds soybean unsaponifiables (A1S2), and each component separately on outcomes including production of aggrecan, and other markers of inflammation.
A1S2 stimulated aggrecan production and restored aggrecan production after IL-1ß treatment. The novel compound also reduced levels of several inflammatory factors such as MMP-3 production.
Expanscience also works with sesame and lupin oils and is active in cosmetics and dermatology developments.