Each year about 8.9 million osteoporosis cases occur, mostly occuring in women over 50 years of age. The use of synthetic drugs to reduce the process of resorption and prevent osteoporosis was likely to cause side effects. Therefore, five students of Faculty of Pharmacy UGM tried to look for alternatives natural ingredients which are safer, effective, and efficient such as oyster mushrooms.
Yana Bintoro Priambodo, Rien Larasati Arini, Aida Fathia, Devyanto Hadi, and Asri Mega Putri conduct research that aims to understand the effect of osteoclastogenesis inhibitory process by oyster mushroom extracts in vitro and in silico.
“In the case of osteoporosis, an imbalance of osteoblast and osteoclast becomes the main trigger of the disease. If the formation of osteoclasts (osteoclastogenesis) can be inhibited, the process of bone resorption could be reduced. Therefore, inhibition of osteoclastogenesis can be used as a strategic approach for the treatment of osteoporosis,” said Yana, chairman of Student Creativity group, on Tuesday (2/8).
Osteoblasts and osteoclasts, he explained, are components that play a role in the process of osteoporosis or bone mass reduction caused by an imbalance between bone resorption and bone formation. As a result of osteoporosis, patients often feel pain, lose the ability to move, and more at risk of broken bones (fractures).
Oyster mushroom is selected as the object of their study because it is known to contain lovastatin which is known as an alternative inhibitor of osteoclastogenesis process because it can increase osteoblast differentiation and inhibit osteoclastogenesis. The oyster mushroom is also well known for daily consumption. It also has many nutrients such as protein, fiber, carbohydrates, and low in fat.
In this study, they used RAW264 macrophage cells modeling induced by osteoclast differentiation factor (ODF). The study was conducted by observing the activity of osteoclastogenesis using Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase (TRAP) staining and to predict the interaction between lovastatin with RANK-RANKL da MAP kinase by using molecular docking.
From the research conducted, the students found that in vitro data of oyster mushrooms can become anti-osteoporosis agent and reduce the risk of osteoporosis by inhibiting osteoclastogenesis process.
“This study is the first step to explore oyster mushrooms as prospective, cheap and safe anti-osteo. The results of this study are expected to provide effective and specific innovations in the treatment of osteoporosis targeted through inhibition of osteoclastogenesis,” said Yana.