FAEE exerts a protective effect against osteoporosis by regulating the MAPK signalling pathway.

Context: Ferulic acid ethyl ester (FAEE) is abundant in Hort. (Apiaceae) and grains, and possesses diverse biological activities; but the effects of FAEE on osteoporosis has not been reported.

Objective: This study investigated whether FAEE can attenuate osteoclastogenesis and relieve ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis via attenuating mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK).

Materials And Methods: We stimulated RAW 264.7 cells with receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) followed by FAEE. The roles of FAEE in osteoclast production and osteogenic resorption of mature osteoclasts were evaluated by tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining, expression of osteoclast-specific genes, proteins and MAPK. Ovariectomized (OVX) female Sprague-Dawley rats were administered FAEE (20 mg/kg/day) for 12 weeks to explore its potential , and then histology was undertaken in combination with cytokines analyses.

Results: FAEE suppressed RANKL-induced osteoclast formation (96 ± 0.88 vs. 15 ± 1.68) by suppressing the expression of osteoclast-specific genes, proteins and MAPK signalling pathway related proteins (p-ERK/ERK, p-JNK/JNK and p-P38/P38) . In addition, OVX rats exposed to FAEE maintained their normal calcium (Ca) (2.72 ± 0.02 vs. 2.63 ± 0.03,  < 0.05) balance, increased oestradiol levels (498.3 ± 9.43 vs. 398.7 ± 22.06,  < 0.05), simultaneously reduced levels of bone mineral density (BMD) (0.159 ± 0.0016 vs. 0.153 ± 0.0025,  < 0.05) and bone mineral content (BMC) (0.8 ± 0.0158 vs. 0.68 ± 0.0291,  < 0.01).

Discussion And Conclusions: These findings suggested that FAEE could be used to ameliorate osteoporosis by the MAPK signalling pathway, suggesting that FAEE could be a potential therapeutic candidate for osteoporosis.