OBJECTIVE:This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Amomum villosum on longitudinal bone growth.METHODS:Adolescent female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups and treated for 4 days:control(distilled water,p.o.),recombinant human growth hormone(rhGH;100 μg/kg,s.c.),and A.villosum(500 mg/kg,p.o.) groups.On day 3,tetracycline(20 g/kg,i.p.) was injected for growth plate identification.On days 2,3 and 4,5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine(BrdU)(50 mg/kg,i.p.) was injected to label proliferating cells.On day 5,tibias were dissected and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde,dehydrated,and sectioned for immunohistochemistry and histomorphometry.RESULTS:The rate of bone growth in the A.villosum and rhGH groups increased to(410 ± 44) and(389 ± 46) μm/day(P