Effects of Medicinal Herb Extracts on Osteoblast Differentiation and Osteoclast Formation

Bone is continuously remodeled by osteoblasts and osteoclasts. We investigated the effects of medicinal herbs, which act on bone metabolism. Fifteen kinds of medicinal herb extracts were screened for bone formation activity with osteoblastic cells, and MC3T3-E1 and bone resorption were screened with osteoclasts derived from mouse bone marrow macrophages. Among these samples, Actinidia polygama, Eucommia ulmoides Oliv., Schizonepeta tenuifolia, Sorbus commixta, and Zingiber officinale Rosc. extracts showed strong bone-forming activity accompanied with osteoblast proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity. In addition, these extracts decreased tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity against osteoclast differentiation. The results indicate that these medicinal herb extracts can potentially prevent bone-related diseases such as osteoporosis by increasing osteoblast differentiation and reducing osteoclast activity.