Inhibitory effect of Ssanghwa-tang on bone loss in ovariectomized rats

Abstract

Ssanghwa-tang (SHT) is a traditional Korean herbal medicine widely prescribed to decrease fatigue following an illness. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of SHT on osteoclast differentiation in vitro, and on bone loss in ovariectomized (OVX) rats in vivo. SHT significantly reduced the receptor activator for the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) ligand (RANKL)-induced tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity, and multinucleated osteoclast formation in RAW264.7 cells without affecting cell viability. In addition, SHT significantly attenuated RANKL-induced mRNA expression levels of c-Src and cathepsin K. To examine the in vivo effect of SHT on OVX-induced bone loss in OVX rats, we administered SHT (0.6 g/kg BID) orally to OVX rats for 12 weeks. SHT administration significantly blocked OVX-induced decrease of femoral bone mineral density (BMD) and femoral trabeculae in OVX rats. In conclusion, these results suggest that SHT treatment effectively prevents OVX-induced bone loss, and this effect may result from its inhibitory effect on osteoclast differentiation.