title: Evaluating the bone tissue regeneration capability of the Chinese herbal decoction Danggui Buxue Tang from a molecular biology perspective.
abstract: Large bone defects are a considerable challenge to reconstructive surgeons. Numerous traditional Chinese herbal medicines have been used to repair and regenerate bone tissue. This study investigated the bone regeneration potential of Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese herbal decoction prepared from Radix Astragali (RA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (RAS), from a molecular biology perspective. The optimal ratio of RA and RAS used in DBT for osteoblast culture was obtained by colorimetric and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assays. Moreover, the optimal concentration of DBT for bone cell culture was also determined by colorimetric, ALP activity, nodule formation, Western blotting, wound-healing, and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity assays. Consequently, the most appropriate weight ratio of RA to RAS for the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts was 5:1. Moreover, the most effective concentration of DBT was 1,000 μg/mL, which significantly increased the number of osteoblasts, intracellular ALP levels, and nodule numbers, while inhibiting osteoclast activity. Additionally, 1,000 μg/mL of DBT was able to stimulate p-ERK and p-JNK signal pathway. Therefore, DBT is highly promising for use in accelerating fracture healing in the middle or late healing periods.
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan ; Department of Chinese Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Ling
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan ; School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 40201, Taiwan ; Department of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40201, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shi-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Sheu
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan ; Department of Biomedical Imaging and Radiological Science, China Medical University, Taichung 40202, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yueh-Sheng
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6754-8204
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan ; Department of Chinese Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shung-Te
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan ; Department of Chinese Medicine, Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital, The Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Taichung 40427, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yuan-Tsung
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tzong-Fu
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Yunlin 64002, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuo-Yu
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1654-2715
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan ; Department of Biomedical Imaging and Radiological Science, China Medical University, Taichung 40202, Taiwan ; Department of Biomedical Informatics, Asia University, Taichung 41354, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Hsu
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yao
mesh_terms: D029971:Angelica sinensis; D027885:Astragalus propinquus; D001861:Bone Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000187:drug effects; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C477279:danggui buxue decoction; C027492:Huang Qi; C044613:angelicae sinensis extract