{
  "abstract": "Marine soft corals represent a rich source of structurally diverse secondary metabolites; however, their potential effects on bone metabolism remain poorly explored. In this study, an integrated molecular networking- and bioactivity-guided strategy was employed to identify potential anti-osteoporotic constituents from the soft coral Sclerophytum humesi. LC-MS/MS-based molecular networking was integrated with biological activity data to prioritize bioactivity-associated molecular families for targeted isolation. In a glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis zebrafish model, fraction SH-E3 exhibited a pronounced ability to restore impaired skeletal mineralization and was therefore prioritized for further chemical investigation. Targeted isolation of SH-E3 afforded one previously undescribed compound (1) together with eight known metabolites (3-10), including six sterols: ergosta-5,24(28)-dien-3-ol (5), ergosta-5,22-dien-3-ol (6), cholesterol (7), gorgosterol (8), (3β)-33-norgorgost-5-en-3-ol (9), and ergost-5-en-3-ol (10). Parallel investigation of SH-E7 yielded a second previously undescribed compound (2), structurally related to 1. Evaluation of compounds 1-10 in MG-63 cells revealed that sterols 5-10 enhanced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity to varying degrees, whereas compounds 1-4 exhibited relatively weak or negligible effects. These findings indicate that the osteogenic activity of SH-E3 is primarily associated with its sterol-enriched chemical profile. Collectively, this study demonstrates the utility of integrating molecular networking with biological activity for the efficient prioritization of bioactive constituents from chemically complex marine extracts and highlights soft-coral-derived sterols as promising candidates for further investigation of their potential roles in glucocorticoid-induced bone loss.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University Taipei City 110301 Taiwan.",
    "PhD Program in Clinical Drug Development of Herbal Medicine, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University Taipei 110301 Taiwan.",
    "Graduate Institute of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University Taipei 110301 Taiwan.",
    "Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University Ho Chi Minh City 758307 Vietnam.",
    "National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium Pingtung 944401 Taiwan.",
    "Traditional Herbal Medicine Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital Taipei 110301 Taiwan.",
    "Department of Pharmacognosy and Traditional Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City 700000 Vietnam.",
    "Center for Reproductive Medicine and Sciences, Taipei Medical University Hospital Taipei 110301 Taiwan."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 14,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Bo-Rong Peng",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4537-1353"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yun-Shiuan Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ting-Mei Wang",
      "orcid": "0009-0004-7885-8426"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Phuong Vu Luu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Quoc-Vu Pham"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Guan-Yi Lai"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Hsin-Wei Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Lo-Yun Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Jui-Hsin Su",
      "orcid": "0009-0002-0356-5851"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Kuei-Hung Lai",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7220-6356"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Huong-Giang Le"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Ngoc-Thac Pham"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Tuyet Nhung Tran"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Mei-Hsien Lee",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8592-9326"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/443pbk62n0eca.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1039/d6ra08640c",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13725852/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "443pbk62n0eca",
  "issns": [
    "2046-2069"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13725852",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Chemistry"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1305|Marine Sponges and Natural Products"
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  "openalex": "W7225097371",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13725852/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13725852",
  "pmid": "42974376",
  "published": "2026-11-02",
  "publisher": "Royal Society of Chemistry",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/443pbk62n0eca.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-03T15:20:50Z",
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    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T15:20:47Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42974376",
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      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42974376"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-05T12:22:18Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13725852",
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      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1039/d6ra08640c"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1305|Marine Sponges and Natural Products",
      "subfield": "systems-synthetic"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A molecular networking-guided strategy for identifying anti-osteoporotic sterols from the soft coral Sclerophytum humesi",
  "title_text": "A molecular networking-guided strategy for identifying anti-osteoporotic sterols from the soft coral Sclerophytum humesi",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-05T12:22:18Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/443pbk62n0eca",
  "venue": "RSC advances",
  "versions": []
}