Preventive potentials of Taiwanese marine algae polysaccharide-enriched extracts in osteoarthritis progression

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent degenerative joint disease. However, effective strategies for halting or reversing OA progression remain limited. In this study, we investigated the preventive effects of four Taiwanese marine algae polysaccharide-enriched extracts, extracted from Ulva ohnoi , Ulva prolifera , and Saccharina japonica on chondrocytes in an anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT)-induced OA mouse model. These extracts significantly enhanced chondrocyte viability, motility, and proliferation and were associated with thrombomodulin (TM) upregulation, counteracting OA pathology. Among the samples, Ulva ohnoi from Hualien exhibited the most pronounced bioactivity, increasing cell viability by 2.5-fold and motility by 5.7-fold at 1000 μg/mL. In vivo , its oral administration attenuated ACLT-induced cartilage degeneration, increased safranin-O staining intensity by approximately 1.5–2-fold, reduced Osteoarthritis Research Society International scores by approximately 20–50%, and preserved TM expression. These findings suggested that Taiwanese algal-extracted polysaccharides-enriched extracts might serve as promising nutraceutical ingredients for attenuating OA progression.