Lamb plant substance could help bones

DAEJEON, South Korea, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Researchers in South Korea say plant substances may help treat the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis.

Young Ho Kim and colleagues at Chungnam National University in Daejeon, South Korea, say substances from the lamb plant -- Cibotium barmoetz -- show potential as a bone-builder because in the laboratory the substances blocked formation of bone-destroying cells without harmful effects on other cells.

"Cibotium barmoetz substances could be used in the development of therapeutic targets for osteoporosis," the study authors say in a statement.

Cibotium barmoetz has long been used in Vietnamese folk medicine. It is known as the "lamb plant" because it was fabled the plant bore fruits that ripened into living lambs that grew as they grazed on nearby grass.

The study is published in the American Chemical Society"s Journal of Natural Products.