Saturated fat helps to preserve cartilage

This study was published in Cartilage 2013 Oct;4(4):321-8

 

Study title and authors:

Monounsaturated and Saturated, but Not n-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Decrease Cartilage Destruction under Inflammatory Conditions: A Preliminary Study.

Bastiaansen-Jenniskens YM, Siawash M, van de Lest CH, Verhaar JA, Kloppenburg M, Zuurmond AM, Stojanovic-Susulic V, Van Osch GJ, Clockaerts S.

Department of Orthopaedics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26069676

This study investigated whether the most common fats found in synovial fluid influence cartilage deterioration in patients with osteoarthritis. Cartilage was obtained from osteoarthritis patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (knee replacement). Chondrocytes (cells found in cartilage) or cartilage explants were cultured with linoleic (n-6 polyunsaturated fat), oleic (monounsaturated fat), or palmitic (saturated fat).

The study found that:
(a) Polyunsaturated fat increased prostaglandin-E2 production. (Prostaglandin-E2 is proinflammatory).
(b) Saturated fat and monounsaturated fat inhibited matrix metalloproteinase-1 gene expression. (Matrix metalloproteinase-1 is proinflammatory).
(c) Saturated fat and monounsaturated inhibited glycosaminoglycan release. (Glycosaminoglycan provides the structural properties of cartilage, thereby higher glycosaminoglycan release indicates an increase in cartilage matrix degradation).

The results of the study indicate that polyunsaturated fat  has a pro-inflammatory effect on cartilage whereas saturated fat and monounsaturated fat seem to inhibit cartilage destruction.

Bastiaansen-Jenniskens concluded: "These results indicate that altered fatty acid levels may influence loss of cartilage structure in osteoarthritis".