Gastrodin Ameliorates Knee Joint Inflammation and Pain in Osteoarthritis Rats and Prevents Chondrocyte Injury by Regulating PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 Pathway

Several studies have demonstrated the anti-inflammatory properties of gastrodin. However, its specific role and mechanism in the context of osteoarthritis (OA) remain unclear. The objective of this study was to explore the function and mechanism of gastrodin in both in vivo and in vitro OA models. In this study, the targets of gastrodin against osteoarthritis were analyzed using bioinformatics methods. The effect of gastrodin on neutrophil infiltration and inflammatory cytokines in OA synovial tissue was evaluated using H&E staining. The levels of inflammatory cytokines were determined using ELISA and Q-PCR. The extracellular matrix degradation-related proteins and PI3K/AKT/FoxO1 signaling pathway were tested using western blotting. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that the target of gastrodin against OA might act on the FoxO pathway. The use of gastrodin resulted in a significant reduction in the infiltration of neutrophils in the synovial tissue of rats, as observed through H&E staining. Additionally, gastrodin was found to attenuate IL-1β-induced inhibition of chondrocyte viability, pro-inflammatory cytokine production, and extracellular matrix degradation. This effect can be attributed to the suppression of PI3K/AKT/FoxO1 by gastrodin. These findings indicate that gastrodin is a treatment for OA.