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eCAM Advance Access published online on July 26, 2005
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/neh101
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© The Author (2005). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Received January 5, 2005
Accepted June 28, 2005

Original Article

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

Fang Xie 1, Chun-Fu Wu 2, Wan-Ping Lai 3, Xu-juan Yang 4, Pik-Yuan Cheung 3, Xin-Sheng Yao 5 *, Ping-Chung Leung 6, and Man-Sau Wong 3*

1 Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China; State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology, Shenzhen, China
2 Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China
3 State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology, Shenzhen, China; Open 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, China
4 Department of Natural Products Chemistry, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China; State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology, Shenzhen, China
5 Department of Natural Products Chemistry, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China
6 Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Man-Sau Wong, E-mail: bcmswong{at}polyu.edu.hk


  Abstract

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 µg ml-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 postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Keywords: Herba Epimedium; osteoblast-like UMR 106 cells; osteoclastogenesis; osteoporosis; ovariectomized rat.
*Correspondence may also addressed to: yaoxinsheng@hotmail.com
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