Estrogen deficiency caused osteoporosis during the first decade after Menopause. Estrogen
replacement therapy is effective in osteoporosis caused by menopause, but it has some
effects, such as carcinogenesis and uterine bleeding. Recent studies have focused
on replacement natural compound that contain phytoestrogen. phytoestrogen is natural
compound derived from plant, which exibit estrogen-like activities. Licorice is one
of the medicinal plant that have phytoestrogen and its extract indicate activity as
Estradiol in some parameters. To evaluate the effect of licorice extract on the proliferation
and osteogenesis of human, mesenchymal stem cells were determined by MTT method and
real-time PCR. Our results show that licorice extract were increased the proliferation
and differentiation of hMSC in a dose dependent manner (significant at 10,25,50,100µg/ml).
Real-time pcr analysis shown that licorice extract treatment induced an increase in
the expression of BMP-2, Runx-2, Alp, osteocalcin and spp-1 in day 6 and 12, hence
ICI 182780, an specific estrogen receptor antagonist inhibit the effect of licorice
extract on differentiation, we found that licorice extract stimulates osteoblastogenesis
via estrogenic activity and can be used as alternative natural medicine for bone disease
such as osteoporosis
