A review on osteoclast diseases and osteoclastogenesis inhibitors recently developed from natural resources

Natural products have been investigated as potential candidates of novel therapeutics and play a crucial role in advanced medicinal drugs. Natural resources, including local medicinal plants (especially folk medicinal plants), animals, bacteria, and fungi have been used for more than a century, and are precious gifts from nature, providing potential medicines with high safety. Osteoclast-related diseases, such as osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Paget's disease, osteoclastoma, and periprosthetic osteolysis, are currently the most common reasons for bone inflammation, pain and fractures, resulting in low quality of life. However, the curative effects of current therapeutic drugs for these osteoclast-related diseases are limited, and long-term treatment is needed. Further, in severe cases, surgical treatments are necessary, which may cause unaffordable expenses and subsequent influences such as neuralgia, mental stress, and even development of cancer. Thus, safer inhibitors and potential drugs with enhanced curative effects and quick relief are needed to treat patients with osteoclast diseases. This review aims to introduce the main osteoclast-related diseases and some of the recently developed naturally sourced inhibitors against osteoclastogenesis, also it is desired to attract people's attention on using widely available natural resources for the evolution of new types of osteoclast inhibitors with minimal or no side-effects upon long-term treatments.