Young Ho Kim

College of Pharmacy, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea

Osteoporosis is characterized by the progressive loss of bone mineral density and the deterioration of bone micro-architecture, causing an increased risk of fracture. Bone development is controlled by the coordinated actions of osteoblasts (bone formation) and osteoclasts (bone resorption). Inadequate formation of new bone or excessive bone resorption is often associated with osteoporosis disease. Moreover, ROS-induced oxidative stress was found to be one of the primary contributors to the pathogenesis of osteoporosis via its role in osteoclastic resorption and detrimental effects on bone-forming osteoblasts. During our search for potential therapeutic agents to control osteoporosis from natural products, several components from Artemisia iwayomogi, Prunus mume, Euphorbia maculata, Ducrosia ismaelis, Buddleja officinalis, Lawsonia inermis, Goniothalamus tamirensis and Acanthopanax koreanum were isolated and their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods. The anti-osteoporotic activities of these isolates were investigated together with their antioxidant activities in our study.