Objective: To explore the effects of Drynaria fortunei J. Smith (DFS) on promoting the proliferation,
differentiation and
calcification of cells. Method: Two DFS preparations were extracted with distilled water (DFS aqueous-extract) and 95 % ethanol (DFS ethanol-extract),respectively. A mouse osteoblast cell line MC3T3-E1 was used as a cell model for screening potency of DFS. MTT and Flow cytometry were applied to determine proliferation of the cell promoted by DFS aqueous-and ethanol-extracts at different dosages. Differentiating effects of the two extracts with different concentrations in the cell were evaluated through the examinations of alkali phosphate (ALP) activities and osteocalcin levels. Von kossa staining method was used to understand the effects of the two extracts promoting
calcification of the cell. Result: 0.01 mg·L -1 and 1 mg·L -1 of DFS aqueous-extracts showed the proliferative promotion for MC3T3-E1 cell ( P <0.05). Both the 0.01 mg·L -1 and 1 mg·L -1 of the two DFS extracts increased the percentages of S-phase cells whereas the percentages of G 1-phase cells were decreased. 1 and 100 mg·L -1 of the ethanol-extract remarkably increased the synthesis and secretion of osteocalcin of the cell ( P <0.001). 1 mg·L -1 of the aqueous-extract and 0.01 mg·L -1 of the ethanol-extract were able to promote the cell calcification ( P <0.05). Conclusion: In the DFS aqueous-and ethanol-extracts,there are some of the components promoting the proliferation,
differentiation and calcification of osteoblast.