Background: Danshen is a traditional Chinese medicine used for treatment of cardiac diseases through improving blood circulation. The authors' laboratory compared the amount of new bone formed in collagen matrix with Danshen extract with that produced by bone graft and collagen matrix alone.
Methods: Eighteen bone defects, 5 mm x 10 mm were created in the parietal bone of nine New Zealand White rabbits. In the experimental group, six defects were grafted with a collagen matrix with Danshen extract. In the control groups, six defects were grafted with collagen matrix alone (active control) and six were left empty (passive control). The animals were killed on day 14 and the defects were dissected and prepared for histological assessment. Serial sections were cut across each defect. Quantitative analysis of new bone formation was made on 100 sections (50 sections for each group) using image analysis.
Results: A total of five times more new bone was present in defects grafted with Danshen extract in a collagen matrix than those grafted with collagen matrix alone. Very little new bone was formed in the passive control group.
Conclusions: Danshen extract in collagen matrix has the effect of increasing new bone formation locally and can be used for bone grafting especially in cases with compromised vascular responses.