Authors : Noriko Ikeda, Toshie Sugiyama, Toshiko Suzuki, Katsuyuki Mukai and Seiji Kusuhara
Abstract: Osteoporosis is a bone disease in which Bone Mineral Density (BMD) is reduced with a consequent increase in the risk of bone fractures. β-cryptoxanthin (β-CRP) is present in large amounts in Satsuma mandarins and was recently reported to stimulate bone formation. In this study, researchers investigated the effects of β-CRP in Satsuma Mandarin Pulp (SMP; 2 mg g-1 β-CRP) on bone metabolism in an Ovariectomized (OVX) rat model of osteoporosis. Female rats (12 weeks of age) were ovariectomized and orally administered vehicle, 0.03 g day-1 SMP or 0.3 g day-1 SMP for 5 weeks. After that serum concentrations of osteocalcin (an osteoblastic bone formation marker) tended to be higher in the SMP groups than in the OVX vehicle group while those of collagen type I degradation products (an osteoclastic bone resorption marker) tended to be lower in the SMP groups. By bone histomorphometry, bone trabecular volume/tissue volume ratios and trabecular numbers were significantly higher in the SMP groups than in the OVX vehicle group while trabecular separation and osteoclast number/bone surface ratios were significantly lower in the SMP groups. By immunohistochemistry, percentage areas of osteocalcin immunoreactivity on trabecular surface were significantly greater in the SMP groups than in the OVX vehicle group. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry analyses revealed that BMDs of the lumbar vertebrae and femora, tibiae tended to increase as the dose of SMP increased in the OVX rats. In conclusion, oral SMP administration stimulated osteoblastic bone formation and inhibited osteoclastic bone resorption in OVX rats, thereby preventing the bone loss associated with osteoporosis.
Noriko Ikeda, Toshie Sugiyama, Toshiko Suzuki, Katsuyuki Mukai and Seiji Kusuhara, 2012. Effects of β-Cryptoxanthin on Bone Metabolism in a Rat Model of Osteoporosis. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 11: 30-35.