[Effect of riboflavin (vitamin B2) on spontaneous gonarthrosis in the mouse]

Male mice of the C57 black strain were given 1 mg/kg body weight of riboflavin (vitamin B2) in their drinking water daily for 4 months, in addition to the vitamin B2 contained in their standard pellet feed. Controls received the standard feed only. Histological examination of the joints at the end of the experiment showed that the incidence of gonarthrosis in the group given supplementary riboflavin was less than half that found in the controls; the number of mice with bilateral gonarthrosis was also considerably smaller, and the severity of the lesions less marked. Signs of physiological degeneration in the epiphyseal cartilage of the femoral and tibial condyles were only marginally less pronounced than in the controls. The notable inhibitory effect of riboflavin, which is known to promote regenerative processes, on osteoarthritis was compared with that of drugs stimulating wound healing, e.g. flavonoids, tribenoside, and zinc sulfate. These latter substances were also found to exert a similar inhibitory effect on spontaneous gonarthrosis in the mouse.