Effect of oral glucosamine on cartilage degradation in a rabbit model of osteoarthritis

Objective To determine whether oral glucosamine alleviates cartilage degradation in an animal model of osteoarthritis (OA). Methods The effect of 8 weeks of daily oral glucosamine hydrochloride on degeneration of articular cartilage was evaluated in rabbits in which anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) was performed to induce OA. Animals were treated with glucosamine (n = 16) or a placebo (n = 16) and necropsied at 11 weeks. Seven unoperated rabbits served as controls. The articular cartilage was evaluated macroscopically and histologically and analyzed for total type II collagen and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content. Results Histologic analysis revealed that loss of proteoglycan, based on Safranin O–fast green staining, was significantly reduced in the lateral tibial plateau cartilage of ACL‐transected limbs in the glucosamine group compared with ACL‐transected limbs in the placebo group, with a similar, but not significant, trend for the lateral femoral condylar cartilage. Likewise, macroscopic analysis of cartilage showed that the lateral tibial plateau alone had a significantly lower rate of disease in the glucosamine group, which was consistent with the results of the independent histologic assessment. However, no significant treatment effect was detected when composite histologic scores were analyzed. A significant reduction in GAG content was observed in the femoral condyles of placebo‐treated ACL‐transected joints, but not in the same region of glucosamine‐treated ACL‐transected joints, compared with their respective contralateral unoperated joints. Conclusion Oral administration of glucosamine had a detectable, site‐specific, partial disease‐modifying effect in this model of OA. From a clinical perspective, the administration of glucosamine did not prevent fibrillation and/or erosions of the articular cartilage in all of the treated animals, and no effects were detected in the medial joint compartments.