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.