Floridoside from Laurencia undulata promotes osteogenic differentiation in murine bone marrow mesenchymal cells

• Floridoside was examined for its effect on osteogenic differentiation in D1 cells.
• Floridoside enhanced the expression of osteogenic differentiation markers.
• Floridoside may be a potential agent for bone formation and promoting bone health.

Floridoside [α-D-galactopyranosyl-(1-2)-L-glycerol] from marine red algae Laurencia undulata (L. undulata) has received considerable attention as a bioactive compound especially for its beneficial effects on human health. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of floridoside in the process of osteogenic differentiation in murine bone marrow mesenchymal (D1) cells and elucidate the mechanism underlying the effect. Under the osteogenic differentiation condition in D1 cells, floridoside showed up-regulation of the sequential markers such as alkaline phosphate (ALP), type I collagen, osteocalcin/osteopontin and mineralisation in the progression. In addition, mRNA levels of Runx-2 and Osterix with floridoside showed remarkable increase at days 14 and 21 compared to the control cells with only ODM media. Thus, our results suggest that floridoside can promote osteogenic differentiation via controlling the sequential markers at the early and late stages of osteogenic differentiation in D1 cells, and it may be a potential therapeutic agent for bone formation.