Icariin stimulates the proliferation of rat bone mesenchymal stem cells via ERK and p38 MAPK signaling.

Bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are able to differentiate into multi types of lineages, so they have been widely applied in the stem cell transplantation. The BMSCs are usually needed to be expanded before transplantation due to their limited content in bone marrow. It has recently been reported that Icariin (ICA), a major constituent of flavonoids from the Chinese medical herb Epimedium brevicornum Maxim, promotes the proliferation of various types of differentiated cells.