The effect of the Hippocampus erectus decoction on improving osteoporosis in zebrafish

The seahorse is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that has been utilized for the treatment of conditions such as osteoporosis, nonunion fractures, knee osteoarthritis, and herniated lumbar disks. Zebrafish is an excellent animal model to study the effects of herbal preparations on osteogenesis and bone metabolism, and bone biology is highly similar to that of mammals, so it has been used to develop multiple glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) models. Our study aimed to explore whether the decoction of Hippocampus erectus (DHe) administered in zebrafish larvae promotes bone health under physiological and osteoporotic conditions. In zebrafish larvae, 25 µM prednisolone solution was successfully used to induce the zebrafish osteoporosis model, which can significantly inhibit the mineralization area and degree of bone mineralization, reduce the activity of alkaline phosphatase, and increase tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity. The results showed that 0.3 g/L DHe had a significant improvement effect on osteoporosis in zebrafish by enhancing the mineralization degree and phosphatase activity of zebrafish, while also promoting the expression of genes associated with bone development. It can be considered a good candidate to develop new drugs against osteoporosis. •New active ingredients, including oleamide and docosahexaenoic acid were detected in seahorse decoction.•0.3 g/L seahorse decoction can promote the expression of osteogenic genes, significantly increased the degree of bone mineralization, and improved the osteoporosis of zebrafish larvae.•0.3g/L seahorse decoction can promote the activity of ALP and inhibite the activity of TRAP.