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eCAM Advance Access originally published online on July 26, 2005
eCAM 2005 2(3):353-361; doi:10.1093/ecam/neh101
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© The Author (2005). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
The online version of this article has been published under an open access model. Users are entitled to use, reproduce, disseminate, or display the open access version of this article for non-commercial purposes provided that: the original authorship is properly and fully attributed; the Journal and Oxford University Press are attributed as the original place of publication with the correct citation details given; if an article is subsequently reproduced or disseminated not in its entirety but only in part or as a derivative work this must be clearly indicated. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions{at}oupjournals.org

The osteoprotective effect of Herba epimedii (HEP) extract in vivo and in vitro

Fang Xie1,3, Chun-Fu Wu1, Wan-Ping Lai3,4, Xu-juan Yang2,3, Pik-Yuan Cheung3,4, Xin-Sheng Yao2,*, Ping-Chung Leung5 and Man-Sau Wong3,4,{dagger}

1Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University Shenyang 110016, 2Department of Natural Products Chemistry, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University Shenyang 110016, 3State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology Shenzhen, 4Open Laboratory of Chirotechnology of the Institute of Molecular, Technology for Drug Discovery and Synthesis, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong SAR, and 5Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong SAR, China

Herba epimedii (HEP) is one of the most frequently used herbs prescribed for treatment of osteoporosis in China. In the present study, the in vivo effects of HEP extract on bone metabolism were evaluated using 4-month-old ovariectomized (OVX) or sham-operated (Sham) female Sprague-Dawley rats orally administered with HEP extract (110 mg kg–1d–1), 17ß-estrogen (2 mg kg–1d–1) or its vehicle for 3 months. HEP extract significantly decreased urinary calcium excretion, suppressed serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and urinary deoxypyridinoline levels in OVX rats (P < 0.05 versus vehicle-treated OVX rats). Histomorphometric analysis indicated that HEP extract could prevent OVX-induced bone loss by increasing tibial trabecular bone area and decreasing trabecular separation in OVX rats (P < 0.05 versus vehicle-treated OVX group). The in vitro effects of HEP extract were also studied using rat osteoblast-like UMR 106 cells. HEP extract significantly stimulated cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.01 versus vehicle-treated) and increased ALP activity at 200 µgml–1 (P < 0.01 versus vehicle-treated) in UMR 106 cells. It modulated osteoclastogenesis by increasing osteoprotegrin (OPG) mRNA and decreasing receptor activator of NF-{kappa}B ligand (RANKL) mRNA expression, resulting in a dose-dependent increase in OPG/RANKL mRNA ratio (P < 0.01 versus vehicle-treated). Taken together, HEP treatment can effectively suppress the OVX-induced increase in bone turnover possibly by both an increase in osteoblastic activities and a decrease in osteoclastogenesis. The present study provides the evidence that HEP can be considered as a complementary and alternative medicine for treatment of post-menopausal osteoporosis.

Keywords: Herba Epimedium – osteoblast-like UMR 106 cells – osteoclastogenesis – osteoporosis – ovariectomized rat

{dagger}For reprints and all correspondence: Man-Sau Wong, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China. Tel: +852-27666695; Fax: +852-23649932; E-mail: bcmswong{at}polyu.edu.hk

*Correspondence may also addressed to: yaoxinsheng{at}hotmail.com


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