Objective: To investigate the effect of Zenggu (ZG)-I, -II and -III on osteoblast (OB) cultured in vitro.
Methods: OB was isolated from calvaria of 22-day-old fetal SD rats by means of modified sequential collagenase digestion and incubated in RM1640 medium and the cell morphology was observed by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining. Different concentrations of ZG-I, -II and -III were added to the OB and incubated. The effect of ZG on the proliferation and osteogenesis of OB was monitored by MTT analysis, BGP content radioimmunoassay, ALP activity and calcium contents determination.
Results: The BGP, ALP, and calcium contents of the cultured OB cells as well as the cell proliferation were higher in ZG-III group than those in the other groups (P < 0.05) in a dose-dependent manner. It suggested that ZG-III could promote the proliferation and osteogenesis of OB, but ZG-I and ZG-II had insignificant influence on OB cultured in vitro.
Conclusion: ZG-III could promote the OB proliferation and bone formation, ZG-I, -II, -III sequential therapy could effectively prevent and treat osteoporosis and promote the bone formation.