| Objective To investigate the application of active monomers, β-ecdysterone (βEcd) from Niuxi and pinoresinol diglucoside (PDG) from Duzhong, in the treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP). Methods Two-month-old C57BL/6 male mice were randomly divided into 6 groups: normal control group, model group (Dex), positive control group, alendronate group (Dex + ALN), βEcd group (Dex + βEcd), PDG group (Dex + PDG), and βEcd combined with PDG group (Dex + βEcd + PDG). Mice in normal control group were subcutaneously injected with the saline. Mice in model group and treatment groups received 2 mg/kg of dexamethasone (Dex). Mice in treatment groups received 0.5 mg/kg of ALN, 0.5 mg/kg of βEcd, 0.5 mg/kg of PDG, or the mixture of 0.5 mg/kg βEcd and 0.5mg/kg PDG with same proportion, respectively. The mice were weighed every week during the experiment, and the body weight index was calculated with the ratio of body weight at the beginning of the study. After 4 weeks, the model and treatment effects were assessed with micro CT, bone biomechanical testing, ELISA, and Western blotting. Results Compared to the control group, treatment with 2 mg/kg of Dex reduced the weight index, BMD of femoral cortical bone, bone quality indicators. and P1NP concentration (P<0.05), and increased β-CTx concentration (P<0.05), while bending strength, maximum bending load and PINP reduced, expression of caspase-3 and Bax protein increased. Compared to the model group, βEcd and PDG improved the weight index, BMD, bending strength, maximum bending load, and PINP, reduced β-CTx, up-regulated Bcl-2 protein expression, and down-regulated the expression of caspase-3 and Bax (P<0.05). Conclusion βEcd combined with PDG ameliorates GC-induced effects in mice by promoting bone formation and enhancing bone strength. |