Background : Osteoclasts are differentiated from the monocytes/macrophages of hematopoietic cells, that excessive activities of bone-resorbing giant cells leads to pathological bone diseases such as osteoporosis (contained rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune arthritis). Therefore, it is very important to suppress loss of bone mass by deactivation of osteoclast differentiation. In this context, we evaluated for the effects of black ginseng (BG) extract on TRAP activity, proliferation and differentiation in RANKL-induced osteoclastic RAW264.7 cells.
Methods and Results : The aim of this study is to figure out the potential anti-osteoporosis effects and the underlying mechanism of BG extract in RANKL-induced osteoclastic RAW264.7 cells. The ginsenoside Rg3, Rg5, Rk1 and Rh4 content of BG was increased more than Red ginseng (RG). The extracts of BG markedly reduced the activity of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive (TRAP+) multinucleated cells from osteoclastic RAW264.7 cells, without cytotoxicity. BG clearly inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation by decreased calcitonin and TRAP (p < 0.01). Furthermore, ginseonside Rg5 and Rk1 significantly inhibited TRAP activity in formation of osteoclastic differentiation (p < 0.01). It is also found that Ginseonside Rg5 and Rk1 mixture more inhibits osteoclast differentiation activity.
Conclusion : Our results suggest that Black ginseng extract has an anti-osteoporosis effects in bone disease when administered as a food supplement and has potential as a therapeutic agent for osteoporosis.