A New 9,11-Secosterol from the Vietnamese Sea Soft Coral, <i>Sarcophyton Mililatensis</i>, 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, sarcoaldesterol B (2) and ergosta-1β,3β,5α,6β-tetraol (3). Their structures 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&lt;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.