Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Many studies have focused on the effect of puerarin on the bone formation. However, the inhibitory effect of puerarin on osteoclastic bone resorption induced by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ in vitro remain poorly understood.
OBJECTIVE: To study the inhibitory effect of different concentrations of puerarin on osteoclastic bone resorption induced by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in vitro.
METHODS: Bone marrow cells were isolated from 3-week-old mice and added to 24-well plates. The cells in the experiment groups were cultured in 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃+10%+alpha-modified minimum Eagles medium+various concentrations of puerarin (10, 50 and 100 μg/L). The control group was not treated with puerarin.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Osteoclast-like cells were formed and were not significantly different among the four groups. As to the concentration of alkaline phosphatase in the supernatant liquid, there were no significant differences among the four groups (P > 0.05), but the concentration of alkaline phosphatase in the 100 μg/L puerarin group was significantly higher than that of 0 and 50 μg/L puerarin on day 3 (both P < 0.01). The concentration of Ca²⁺ in the 10 μg/L puerarin group was significantly lower than that in the control group on days 3, 5 and 12 (P < 0.05-0.01), the same as the 50 μg/L puerarin group on day 12 (P < 0.01). Compared with the 10 μg/L puerarin group, the concentration of Ca²⁺ in the 100 μg/L puerarin group was significantly higher for up to day 12 (P < 0.05). The results demonstrat that the best dose of puerarin which has the inhibitory effect on osteoclastic bone resorption induced by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ in vitro is between 10-50 μg/L.