Abstract
Many of the functional foods are designed to decrease the risk of chronic diseases like osteoporosis (OP) which is the most common bone disorder affecting millions of people. For the first time, the present study evaluated the effect of the combination between the Greek Thymus vulgaris water extract (TVE) and bee's honey (BH) against hydrocortisone (HC)-induced OP in vitro. The characterization of TVE, BH, and their combined extract (TV-BH) was examined. In addition, the current work assessed the bone turnover, oxidative stress, and inflammatory markers in bone cells. The results revealed the presence of considerable amounts of phenolics, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and flavonols in TVE and BH as well as important minerals and vitamins for the bone health. The TV-BH showed a synergistic (combination index <1) attenuation effect for the HC-induced bone cell damage through significant (p < 0.05) up-regulation of the hydroxyapatite, osteocalcin, phosphorous, and collagen contents. In addition, it significantly (p < 0.05) suppressed the tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity and hydroxyproline level as well as the oxidative and inflammatory stress. Data also observed the more potent anti-osteoporotic effect of the combined extract than the commonly used bisphosphonate drug (alendronate). In conclusion, the administration of TV-BH improved the glucocorticoid-induced bone damage, inflammation, and oxidative stress and as a result, it might be a promising therapeutic option for the OP disorder.