EXTRACT OF DIOSCOREA SP. AND THE MEDICAL USES THEREOF

摘要

The present invention provides a method for treating osteoporosis in a subject in need of such treatment, Including administering orally to the subject an effective amount of an extract product of a Dioscorea species capable of promoting proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow cells in the subject, wherein the Dioscorea species is characterized by a randomly amplified polymorphic ONA when genomic DNA of the Dioscorea species is amplified with a primer of SEQ ID NO: 9, and the extract product is prepared by a process including the steps of: (a) extracting a tuber of the Dioscorea species using an alcohol-based solvent in the presence of acetic acid; (b) subjecting the resultant product obtained in step (a) to a separating treatment to obtain a soluble fraction; and (c) removing solvent from the soluble fraction obtained in step (b) extract fractions of Dioscorea sp.