Low concentration of 3‐carene stimulates the differentiation of mouse osteoblastic MC3T3‐E1 subclone 4 cells

Abstract

Recently, natural products have gained more interest as alternative treatments for metabolic bone disorders and for the maintenance of bone health. In this study, the anabolic activities of 89 natural compounds were evaluated by measuring the amount of newly synthesized calcium in the differentiation process of mouse osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 subclone 4 cells. Of these compounds, a low concentration (up to 5 μ μ μ μ μM) of 3-carene, which is a bicyclic monoterpene in essential oils extracted from pine trees, was shown to stimulate significantly the activity and expression of alkaline phosphatase, an early phase marker of osteoblastic differentiation, on differentiation day 9. On day 15, it dramatically promoted the induction of calcium in a dose-dependent manner. The stimulatory effect of 3-carene on mineralization might be associated with its potential to induce the protein expression/activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases and the transcript levels of osteoblast mineralization-related genes such as osteopontin and type I collagen. Further studies are needed to determine the precise mechanism, but the anabolic activity of 3-carene in bone metabolism suggested that the use of natural additives to the diet including essential oils could have a beneficial effect on bone health.

Saurolactam inhibits osteoclast differentiation and stimulates apoptosis of mature osteoclasts

“…Isolation of total RNA, synthesis of cDNA, and real-time quantitative PCR (QPCR) were carried out as described previously (Jeong et al, 2008). In brief, total RNA was isolated with TRIzol reagent.…”

“…Western blot analysis was carried out as described previously (Jeong et al, 2008). After the blotting procedure, the membranes were stained with Ponceau S staining solution to determine the amount of loaded proteins and the efficiency of transfer.…”

Chemical composition of the leaf essential oils of Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng and Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack

“…In our study the abundance of 3-carene was the highest. It has various medicinal uses (Jeong et al, 2007;Lastbom et al, 1998). On the other hand, M. paniculata contained abundance of caryophyllene oxide which has antifungal activities (Yang et al, 1999).…”

Molecular mediators involved in Ferulago campestris essential oil effects on osteoblast metabolism

“…Cis-verbenol, a metabolite of a-pinene occurring in human urine, inhibited osteoclastic resorption activity [Eriksson and Levin, 1996]. 3-Carene, a bicyclic monoterpene occurring in pine trees has been found to stimulate the mineralization in osteoblastic cells and its activity could result from its potential to promote the activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases signaling pathways and the transcript levels of osteoblast mineralization-related genes such as osteopontin and type I collagen [Jeong et al, 2008]. It has been suggested that monoterpenes act directly on bone cells, not via the stimulation of calciotropic hormones, and the mode of action is thought to be via inhibition of the mevalonate pathway and the prenylation of small G proteins such as Ras, Rho, and Rac [Clegg et al, 1982;Crowell et al, 1991;Ren et al, 1997].…”