Olive leaf extract facilitates healing of experimental cartilaginous injuries in rabbits

We investigated the restorative effect of orally administered olive leaf extract (OLE) on experimentally produced cartilaginous injuries in rabbits. In total, three holes in the left stifle joint, including one in the medial trochlear ridge and two in the trochlear sulcus (proximal and distal) of articular cartilage, were prepared surgically using a drill. For the control group only tap water alone was administered daily, and for the OLE group a water-based solution of OLE (500 mg/kg/day) was administered daily. The injured areas were observed macroscopically and histologically at 3 weeks after the operation. The results indicate that OLE facilitated healing of the three holes and increased the weight of the biceps femoris muscle. Histological examination revealed that in the OLE group, matured cartilage tissues and connective tissues were mixed with regenerated or maturing cartilage tissues with massive proliferation in the injured parts, around which the proliferation of undifferentiated blast cells and the tissue with cartilage substrates were observed. The histological score of the OLE group was significantly lower than that of the control group. The percentage of proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive cartilage cells in the OLE group was higher than in the control group. Mean density of the restored area observed with Safranin O staining was higher in the OLE group than in the control group. Therefore, OLE is effective for enhancing the healing of cartilaginous injuries. OLE may also have a beneficial effect of slowing and reducing the pathogenesis of degenerative joint diseases in humans.