Anti-osteoporosis Effect of Ganoderma (Lingzhi) by Inhibition of Osteoclastogenesis.

The anti-osteoporosis effect of Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum, Lingzhi) is closely associated with inhibition of osteoclastogenesis in the charge of osteoclasts. This article reviewed the anti-osteoporosis effect of Ganoderma and its active components, including a kind of triterpenoids, a polysaccharide and a protein named Ling Zhi-8 (LZ-8). Triterpenoids are a kind of active compounds as candidates for the treatment of osteoporosis. Among these, ganoderic acids are currently considered as the most important and potential components, and their structure-activity relationship highlights the essential group to hamper osteoclast differentiation. The data confirmed that the active compounds isolated from triterpenoids and meroterpenoids could suppress bone resorption of osteoclast via RANKL/RANK pathway and/or its downstream signaling transduction related to ERK, JNK and p38 MAPKs, contributing to inhibition of the level of c-Fos and NFATc1, two key target genes of osteoclast for osteoclastogenesis. However, the comprehensive mechanism remains to be elucidated in the future.