Abstract
Recently, applications of traditional medicine in tissue engineering have gained increasing attention. The components in ginger possess potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, which are considered to be closely associated with its cancer chemopreventive potential. Here, we report a composite system with a highly efficient, bio-responsive, and potent antioxidant-loaded phosphorylated polymer hydroxyapatite for bone tissue engineering based on the anti-osteosarcoma effect of 6-gingerol. The physicochemical properties of the nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and
in vitro
drug release, and the antioxidant activity was determined by UV-vis spectroscopy. Osteoblast (MG63) adhesion and toxicity were tested against an osteosarcoma cell line (Saos-2). The ALP activities and gene expression after HAP/PCS and HAP/PCS/G nanocomposite treatment were investigated. HAP/PCS/G suppressed osteosarcoma progression. Taken together, HAP/PCS/G could be exploited for advanced graft material development to accelerate bone regeneration as HAP/PCS stimulates osteogenesis and 6-gingerol suppresses osteosarcoma progression.