A fructooligosaccharide from Achyranthes bidentata inhibits osteoporosis by stimulating bone formation

Achyranthes bidentata is used as a medicinal herb prescribed for the treatment of osteoporosis in China. The anti-osteoporosis activity of the crude polysaccharide from A. bidentata , AB50, was evaluated by ovariectomized rats. The results indicated that AB50 has prominent osteoprotective effects, which was comparable to positive control. To further explore which ingredients are responsible for these effects, a novel fructan, ABW50-1 (1260 Da), was purified for the first time and characterized by chemical methods and nuclear magnetic resonance. The results revealed that ABW50-1 was composed of →2)- β -D-Fru f -(1→, →2)- β -D-Fru f -(1, 6→ and →2)- β -D-Fru f -(6→, terminated with Glu and Fru residues. Morphological analyses indicated that ABW50-1 was fragmented and contained a branched structure. Furthermore, ABW50-1 significantly increased the relative fluorescence intensity of bone mass, without side effects, in a zebrafish model of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP). Thus, ABW50-1 shows potential for developing new anti-osteoporosis agents for osteoporosis therapy.