• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.491-500
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• 2011

Ursolic acid, triterpenoid compound has been shown to stimulate osteoblast differentiation and enhance bone formation. In the present study, we examined the effects of similar triterpenoid compounds, oleanolic acid (OA) and its derivatives, such as oleanolic acid acetate (OAA) and oleanolic acetate methyl ester (OAM) on the bone formation in MC3T3-E1 osteoblast cells. We determined cellular proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, mineralization, and expression of osteoblast specific genes and mitogen activated protein kinase phosphorylation. Treatment of $0.1-10{\mu}m$ OA, OAA, and OAM increased cellular proliferation, but not significantly increased as compared with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). OA, OAA, and OAM at 5uM concentration enhanced ALP expression, mineralization, and osteocalcin (OCN) mRNA level. In conclusion, OA and its derivatives stimulated the osteoblast differentiation by increasing ALP, mineralization, and OCN mRNA expression. However, there were no significantly difference on osteoblast differentiation among treatment of OA, OAA, and OAM.