The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of extract mixture of C. wilfordii and P. umbrosa (IPLUS-CWPU) on bone growth in 4-week old young male SD rats. To confirm the effect of IPLUS-CWPU, we measured the length of bone growth plate, the ratio of proliferative zone to the length of growth plate and the expression level of insulin-like growth factor, IGF-1. The IPLUS-CWPU treatment shows a significant increase of tibial and femoral growth plate and the ratio of proliferative zone in growth plate. Especially, the length increased by 13.9% and 25.3% in the tibia and femur, respectively, in the high-dose group compared to the normal group. Moreover, the expression of IGF-1 gene in liver was upregulated in IPLUS-CWPU treated groups. These results indicated that IPLUS-CWPU administration could increase the proliferative zone of bone growth plate in early developmental stage by upregulation of IGF-1 gene.

Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
    1. Preparation of the extracts
    2. Animal experiments
    3. Histological analysis
    4. RT-qPCR
    5. Statistical analysis
Results and Discussion
    1. Body weight, and tibial and femoral bone length
    2. Tibial and femoral growth plate
    3. Longitudinal bone growth
    4. IGF-1 gene expression in liver tissue
Conclusion
References

• Hye-Jin Song(Efficacy Evaluation Center of EBO Co., Ltd)
• Yoonhee Seo(Efficacy Evaluation Center of EBO Co., Ltd)
• Sang Keun Hong(Dodam Pharm Corp.)
• Soo Young Choe(Dept. of Biology, Chungbuk National University) Corresponding author