A new 9,11-secosterol from the vietnamese sea soft coral, sarcophyton mililatensis, increases the function of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells

Abstract

Chemical investigation of the Vietnamese soft coral sarcophyton mililatensis resulted in the isolation of a new 9,11-secosterol, sarcomilasterol (1), along with two known polyhydroxylated sterols, saracoaldesterol B(2) and ergosta-1β,3β,5α,6β-eteraol(3). Their structure were established on the basis of NMR spectroscopic and MS experiments. Compound 1(3 μM) significantly increased the growth of MC3T3-E1 cells and caused a significant elevation of alkaline phosphatase activity and nodules mineralization compared to those of the control(P < 0.05). These results suggest that compound 1 has a direct stimulatory effect on bone formation in vitro and may contribute to the prevention of osteoporosis.