A molecular networking-guided strategy for identifying anti-osteoporotic sterols from the soft coral Sclerophytum humesi
8 affiliations
- 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University Taipei City 110301 Taiwan.
- 2PhD Program in Clinical Drug Development of Herbal Medicine, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University Taipei 110301 Taiwan.
- 3Graduate Institute of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University Taipei 110301 Taiwan.
- 4Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University Ho Chi Minh City 758307 Vietnam.
- 5National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium Pingtung 944401 Taiwan.
- 6Traditional Herbal Medicine Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital Taipei 110301 Taiwan.
- 7Department of Pharmacognosy and Traditional Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City 700000 Vietnam.
- 8Center for Reproductive Medicine and Sciences, Taipei Medical University Hospital Taipei 110301 Taiwan.
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.
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BibTeX
@article{peng2026molecular,
title = {{A molecular networking-guided strategy for identifying anti-osteoporotic sterols from the soft coral Sclerophytum humesi}},
author = {Bo-Rong Peng and Yun-Shiuan Chen and Ting-Mei Wang and Phuong Vu Luu and Quoc-Vu Pham and Guan-Yi Lai and Hsin-Wei Wang and Lo-Yun Chen and Jui-Hsin Su and Kuei-Hung Lai and Huong-Giang Le and Ngoc-Thac Pham and Tuyet Nhung Tran and Mei-Hsien Lee},
journal = {RSC advances},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1039/d6ra08640c},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13725852},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A molecular networking-guided strategy for identifying anti-osteoporotic sterols from the soft coral Sclerophytum humesi
AU - Bo-Rong Peng
AU - Yun-Shiuan Chen
AU - Ting-Mei Wang
AU - Phuong Vu Luu
AU - Quoc-Vu Pham
AU - Guan-Yi Lai
AU - Hsin-Wei Wang
AU - Lo-Yun Chen
AU - Jui-Hsin Su
AU - Kuei-Hung Lai
AU - Huong-Giang Le
AU - Ngoc-Thac Pham
AU - Tuyet Nhung Tran
AU - Mei-Hsien Lee
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/02
JO - RSC advances
DO - 10.1039/d6ra08640c
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13725852
AB - 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.
SN - 2046-2069
ER -