Sarsasapogenin, a natural product isolated and purified from the rhizomes of Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge with anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetes,antidepressant, antitumor and protective effects, against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in the cultured cortical neurons in rats, can improve memory by elevating the low muscarinic acetylcholine receptor density in brains of memory-deficit rat models, and effectively promote the proliferation, differentiation and mineralization of osteoblasts cultured in vitro, also inhibit the generation of osteoclasts from marrow cells.