Background
Deer tendons are believed more effective than cattle tendons in tonifying kidney yang (shen yang) and enhancing bone and tendons. This study aims to differentiate the two types of tendons by a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test and bone remodeling bioassays.
Conclusion
This study demonstrated that the isothermal LAMP test can distinguish between deer tendons and cattle tendons. Both types of tendons exhibited similar beneficial effects on bone remodeling according to the bioassay findings.
Methods
Internal control primers to detect both types of tendons and specific primers for deer tendons were designed according to a sequence analysis. The LAMP test was set up and the
Results
In the LAMP test, both deer and cattle tendons were detected in the control reactions, while only deer tendons were amplified by the specific LAMP test. In the bioassays, both tendons inhibited the viability and differentiation of pre-osteoclast Raw264.7 cells, and promoted the proliferation and mineralization of osteoblast-like UMR106 cells. The mRNA expressions of bone remodeling-related markers were consistent with the results of the bioassays.