title: Protective effects of sweroside on human MG-63 cells and rat osteoblasts.
abstract: Herbal Fructus Corni is a folk medicine with a long history of safe use for treating osteoporosis in postmenopausal women or elderly men in Asia. Sweroside is a bioactive herbal ingredient isolated from Fructus Corni, which has been widely used for the treatment of osteoporosis in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Unfortunately, the working mechanisms of this compound are difficult to determine and thus remain unclear. The aim of the study was performed to determine the potential molecular mechanism of the anti-osteoporotic effect of sweroside on the human MG-63 cells and rat osteoblasts. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) test was used to observe the effect of sweroside on cell proliferation. The activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and the amount of osteocalcin were also assayed the cell differentiation. Sweroside significantly increased the proliferation of human MG-63 cells and rat osteoblasts (P<0.01). It increased the activity of ALP, and osteocalcin was also elevated in response to sweroside (P<0.05). Of note, flowcytometer assay showed that sweroside can attenuate and inhibit apoptosis. Sweroside has a direct osteogenic effect on the proliferation and differentiation of cultured human MG-63 cells and rat osteoblasts in vitro. These data will help in understanding the molecular mechanisms of therapeutic efficacy of sweroside, and highlight insights into drug discovery. In the current study, sweroside has been suggested to be a promising osteoporosis therapeutic natural product.
authors.affiliation: National TCM Key Lab of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, and Key Pharmacometabolomics Platform of Chinese Medicines, Heping Road 24, Harbin 150040, China. metabonomics@126.com
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Lijing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Aihua
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Haitao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Wenjun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Xijun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D029768:Cornus / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D057888:Iridoid Glucosides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000187:drug effects*; D012516:Osteosarcoma; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D057888:Iridoid Glucosides; C049412:sweroside