Investigating the Effect of Cape Gooseberry (Physalis Peruviana) Extract on Osteogenic Differentation

Bone defects are a major health issue, affecting
millions of patients and reducing their quality of life. The
alternative regenerative approaches for bone healing and
formation are required due to the limitations of bone graft, a
gold standard treatment, which include immune rejection,
pathogen transmission, and limited donor supply. One
approach that is being explored is to identify factors or natural
products that can induce osteogenic differentiation, an
important process involved in bone repair. In this study, the
potential of methanolic extract of cape gooseberry (Physalis
peruviana) on the induction of osteogenic differentiation was
investigated. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of cape
gooseberry crude extract were found to be 1.874 mg QE/g and
0.037 mg GAE/g respectively. The cytotoxicity of cape
gooseberry extract at the concentration of 10, 25, 50 and 100
μg/ml were tested by MTT assay. The results showed that at
the concentration of 10, 25 and 50 μg/ml, the extract was not
toxic to the cells and the highest cell viability was observed at
concentrations of 10 and 25 μg/ml. Osteogenic differentiation
was assessed using two osteogenic assays, alkaline phosphatase
(ALP) activity and alizarin red staining. The results indicated
that cape gooseberry extract can induce the activity of ALP
enzyme and the deposition of calcium in the matrix as
quantified from alizarin red staining at all time points (7, 14
and 21 days). The ALP induction was significantly higher than
both control and differentiation (osteogenic induction) groups.
The calcium deposition was significantly increased when the
cells were treated with cape gooseberry extract. Furthermore,
it was discovered that 25 μg/ml was the extract's most effective
concentration. According to all of the findings, cape gooseberry
shows promise in promoting osteogenic differentiation, making
it a potential candidate for bone tissue regeneration
applications.