Therapeutic Effect of Glycyrrhizic Acid on Rats with Osteoarthritis

AO Hailun; ZANG Li'e

doi:10.3969/j.issn.2096-305X.2025.04.007

Abstract：Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of glycyrrhizic acid in regulating silence information regulator 1(SIRT1)/forkhead transcription factor O1(FOXO1)signaling pathway in rat osteoarthritis model.Methods OA models were prepared,and rats were randomly divided into sham operation group,OA group,and glycyrrhizic acid group(80 mg/kg),with 9 rats in each group.The mechanical pain threshold and thermal pain threshold of rats in each group were measured;the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)technique was used to detect interleukin-1β(IL-1β),interleukin-6(IL-6),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-10(IL-10),and prostaglandin E2(PGE2)in serum and joint fluid;the kit was used to detect the activity of superoxide dismutase(SOD),the content of malondialdehyde(MDA),and the content of glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px);immunoblotting was employed to examine the expression levels of MMP-3,MMP-13,SIRT1,and acetylated FOXO1 proteins.Results Compared with the sham operation group,the expression of IL-1β,TNF-α,IL-6,MDA,MMP3,MMP13,PGE2,and acetylated FOXO1 increased in the OA group(P＜0.05),while the expression of IL-10,SOD,GSH-Px,and SIRT1 decreased(P＜0.05);compared with the OA group,the glycyrrhizic acid treatment group showed decreased expressions of IL-1β,TNF-α,IL-6,MDA,MMP3,MMP13,PGE2,and acetylated FOXO1(P＜0.05),while increased expressions of IL-10,SOD,GSH-Px,and SIRT1(P＜0.05).Conclusion Glycyrrhizic acid may alleviate the analgesic response in OA rats by regulating the SIRT1/FOXO1 signaling pathway.