Poster Presenter

Unique Plant Extracts Derived From The Greek Flora As Potent Pharmaceutical Agents For The Treatment Of Osteoporosis
Kalpoutzakis E, Polychronopoulos P, Makropoulou M, Bourgiezi I, Aligiannis N, Tenta R
Greece

Background: The flowery aerial parts of Greek species of the genus Sideritis (Labiatae) are used for the preparation of 'Mountain tea'. A previous study showed that Sideritis euboea stimulates osteoblastic cells and suppresses breast cancer cells without exhibiting proliferative effects on the uterus. MG-63 cells are human osteoblast-like osteosarcoma cells, widely used for the pharmacological evaluation of compounds which target bone metabolism.

Methods: Sideritis clandestina subsp. clandestine, Sideritis clandestina subsp. peloponnesiaca and Cichorium spinosum were collected in Peloponnesos and Crete. The air-dried plant materials were powdered, extracted with appropriate solvents and concentrated to crude extracts. MG-63 cells were treated with these plant extracts and the inhibition of cell proliferation was evaluated by the MTT assay. A compound that is already being tested for osteoporosis treatment served as a positive control.

Results: The plant extracts tested inhibited MG-63 cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner after 96 of treatment. Sideritis MeOH as well as Cichorium MeOH extract were even more efficient in inhibiting cell proliferation than the positive control.

Conclusions: Herein, we show that unique plant extracts derived from the Greek flora strongly inhibit osteoblasts proliferation. Our data are very promising, regarding the application of these extracts in the field of osteoporosis.