Abstract

‘BONE-SETTER’ – THE CISSUS QUADRANGULARIS

Gouranga Sundar Roy*, Pamela Ganguly, Raktimava Das Sarkar, Adrika Mondal, Rajdip Goswami and Partha Pratim Das

ABSTRACT

Cissus quadrangularis L. is a Vitaceae succulent plant that grows in tropical and subtropical xeric forests. The most frequent traumatic injury in humans is a fractured bone. Bone fracture repair is a regenerative process that mimics many of the biological events that occur during embryonic skeletal development. It usually results in effective healing and repair of the injured bone. Alternative medicine and folklore techniques have long employed Phyto- bioactive to treat bone disorders. Bioactive plant extracts help bone repair by acting on various signal transduction pathways. The stem of CQ (Cissus quadrangularis) possesses interesting pharmacological and nutritional qualities that help to maintain skeletal health. The powder and extracts of CQ have been utilized for several years as an analgesic, and anabolic, to treat infections, enhance bone and tissue healing, and help with weight reduction and management. Animal and in vitro assays have validated the utilize of Cissus in enhancing bone fracture recovery and as an anti-osteoporotic. Public health concern osteoporosis is associated with a high incidence of mortality and morbidity. Locally synthesized in the bone, growth factors regulate biological functions including stimulating bone growth. Locally formed IGF-I or IGF-II signaling via the Insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-IR) in osteoblast is thought to be critical for bone remodeling and normal growth. Western blotting revealed a rise in IGF-IR protein levels in cells that had been treated with C. quadrangularis. These findings suggest that C. quadrangularis has a favorable effect on the IGF system components of human osteoblasts such as SaOS-2 cells.

Keywords: Cissus quadrangularis, Bone Remodeling, Fracture healing, Phytochemicals, Osteoarthritis, Osteoporosis.