Icariin attenuates hypoxia-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in osteoblasts and preserves their osteogenic differentiation potential in vitro

摘要

ObjectivesIcariin, a prenylated flavonol glycoside isolated from traditional Chinese medicinal herb of the genus Epimedium, has been demonstrated to be a potential alternative therapy for osteoporosis, and its action mechanism so far has been mainly attributed to its phytoestrogenic property. As blood supply to bone is considerably reduced with ageing and by the menopause, we hypothesized that icariin treatment would reduce bone loss by preventing ischaemia-induced hypoxic damages to bone.