Pro-Hyp is the first bioactive edible peptide derived from CH to be shown to affect chondrocyte differentiation under pathological conditions.

Prolyl-hydroxyproline (Pro-Hyp) is one of the major constituents of collagen-derived dipeptides. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of Pro-Hyp on the proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells. Addition of Pro-Hyp did not affect MC3T3-E1 cell proliferation and matrix mineralization but alkaline phosphatase activity was significantly increased. Furthermore, cells treated with Pro-Hyp significantly upregulated gene expression of Runx2, Osterix, and Col1α1. These results indicate that Pro-Hyp promotes osteoblast differentiation. This study demonstrates for the first time that Pro-Hyp has a positive effect on osteoblast differentiation with upregulation of Runx2, Osterix, and Collα1 gene expression.

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Kothala himbutu (KT) is a traditional medicinal plant used in treating diabetes in Ayurvedic medicine. We investigated the effect of the aqueous extract of KT stems (KTE) on energy expenditure in normal mice. Male C57BL/6J mice (n = 28) were divided into 4 groups depending on the type of diet they were fed for 9 weeks: normal (N) diet group (N: 13.8% energy in the form of fat), high-fat (HF) diet group (HF: 53.0% energy in the form of fat), 0.1% freeze-dried KTE (KTED)-supplemented N diet group (N+KTED), and 0.1% KTED-supplemented HF diet group (HF+KTED). KTED intake significantly reduced body weight gain in mice in the N and HF groups. Although it did not affect the plasma levels of glucose, triglyceride, and nonesterified fatty acid, KTED significantly decreased the HF diet-induced increased plasma insulin level. The epididymal and perirenal white adipose tissue (WAT) weights were significantly lower in the HF+KTED group than in the HF group. The oxygen consumption (VO 2 ), measured by indirect calorimetry, of the mice in the KTED-supplemented groups was significantly higher than that of the mice in the N and HF control groups. Moreover, KTED significantly reduced the size of epididymal WAT adipocytes in the N and HF groups. Thus, KTED promoted VO 2 and suppressed WAT accumulation in the mice on the N and HF diets. Therefore, KTE is beneficial in reducing N diet-and HF diet-induced obesity, which may be partly attributable to the stimulation of whole body energy metabolism.