Phenolic Compounds from the Fruit Body of Phellinus linteus Increase Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) Activity of Human Osteoblast-like Cells

Secondary metabolites from the fruit body of Phellinus linteus were evaluated for their proliferative effect on human osteoblast-like cells. 3-[4,5-Dimethylthiazole-2-y1]-2,5-diphenyl-tetraxolium bromide (MTT) assay and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assay were used to assess the effect those isolates on the human osteoblast-like cell line (Saos-2). Activity-guided fractionation led to the isolation of ALP-activating phenolic compounds through the extraction of P. linteus, solvent partitioning, and repeated silica gel and octadecyl silica gel (ODS) column chromatographic separations. From the result of spectroscopic data including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectrometry (MS), and infrared spectroscopy (IR), the chemical structures of the compounds were determined as 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3-buten-2-one(1), 2-(3',4'-dihydroxyphenyl)-1,3-benzodioxole-5-aldehyde (2), 4-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3-buten-2-one (3), 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (4), and protocatechuic acid methyl ester (5), respectively. This study reports the first isolation of compounds 1-3 and 5 from P. linteus. In addition, all phenolic compounds stimulated proliferation of the osteoblast-like cells and increased their ALP activity in a dose-dependent manner ($10^{-8}$ to $10^{-1}\;mg/mL$). The present data demonstrate that phenolic compounds in P. linteus stimulated mineralization in bone formation caused by osteoporosis. The bone-formation effect of P. linteus seems to be mediated, at least partly, by the stimulating effect of the phenolic compounds on the growth of osteoblasts.