An herbal medicine mixture (HM-10) induces longitudinal bone growth and growth hormone release in rats

Abstract

To investigate the growth promoting effects of an herbal medicine formulation (HM-10), Sprague Dawley (SD) male rats (3 weeks old) were divided into 3 groups (8 rats/group). The control group was given a daily oral administration of saline. and the treatment groups, HM-1 and HM-2, were given daily administrations of HM-10 (500 and 1,000 mg/kg BW, respectively). The cumulative tibial bone growth of the HM-1 and HM-2 groups (22.5 and 20.8 mm, respectively), and their cumulative femur bone growth (19.4 and 18.2 mm, respectively), were significantly different compared to the control group (7.5 min of tibial growth and 7.7 mm of femur growth) (p<0.05). Lastly, the growth hormone levels of the HM-1 and HM-2 groups (1.70 and 1.79 ng/mL, respectively), as well as their insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels (165.1 and 171.7 ng/ mL, respectively) showed significant differences compared to the control (0.93 ng/mL of growth hormone and 125.6 ng/mL of IGF-1) (p<0.5).