Dried pomegranate potentiates anti-osteoporotic and anti-obesity activities of red clover dry extracts in ovariectomized rats.

Su Kang,Hye Park,Chang Song,Hae Yi,Sae Ku,Seung Kim,Chang Han,Dong Kim,Young Lee,Beom Choi,Seong Choi,Soo Park

doi:10.3390/nu7042622

Abstract

Red clover (RC) shows potential activity against menopausal symptoms and pomegranates have antioxidative and beneficial effects on postmenopausal symptoms; thus, we investigated whether the anti-climacteric activity of RC could be enhanced by the addition of dried pomegranate concentrate powder (PCP) extracts in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Regarding the anti-osteoporotic effects, bone mineral density increased significantly in OVX induced rats treated with 60 and 120 mg/kg of an RC:PCP 2:1 mixture, respectively, compared with OVX control rats. Additionally, femoral, tibia, and L4 bone resorption was decreased in OVX induced control rats treated with the RC:PCP 2:1 mixture (60 and 120 mg/kg), respectively, compared with OVX control rats. Regarding anti-obesity effects, the OVX induced rats treated with 60 and 120 mg/kg of the RC:PCP 2:1 mixture showed a decrease in total fat pad thickness, the mean diameters of adipocytes and the body weights gain compared with OVX induced control rats. The estradiol and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase levels were significantly increased in OVX induced rats treated with the RC:PCP 2:1 mixture (120 mg/kg) compared with OVX induced control rats, also, the uterine atrophy was significantly inhibited in 60 and 120 mg/kg of the RC:PCP 2:1 mixture treatment compared with OVX control rats. In conclusion, our results indicate that PCP enhanced the anti-climacteric effects of RC in OVX rats. The RC:PCP 2:1 mixture used in this study may be a promising new potent and protective agent for relieving climacteric symptoms.

Highlights

The postmenopausal state is associated with an increased risk of metabolic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension [1]
The increases in the OVX rats were significantly attenuated by Red clover (RC) and pomegranate concentrate powder (PCP) in the
Rats treated with the 120 mg/kg mixture showed dramatic decreases in body weight compared with the single formula RC and PCP-treated rats at 77 days after administration (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

The postmenopausal state is associated with an increased risk of metabolic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension [1]. These metabolic diseases might be caused directly by estrogen deficiency and may occur partly as secondary effects of obesity due to the orexigenic effects of estrogen deficiency [2]. Isoflavones, derived from soy and soy derivatives, are the most common PEs and genistein and daidzein are the most abundant and well-studied. This class of PEs can be found in clover

Methods

Results

Conclusion