Abstract
To evaluate the anti-osteoporotic effect of antler blood, the relationship between the change of element content and the bone mineral density (BMD) increase in femur was investigated. Female Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham-operated group (SHAM,n=5), ovariectomized group (OVX,n=5) and ovariectomized group with antler blood treatment (n=5). The femoral BMD was analyzed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and the element relative content was determined by synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence (SRXRF) microprobe. The results showed that the femoral BMD in ovariectomized rats was significantly lower than that of sham-operated rats (p<0.05) but reversed by antler blood treatment (p<0.05). A further study demonstrated that the relative contents of phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), zinc (Zn) and strontium (Sr) were obviously lower in ovariectomized rats compared to sham-operated rats but only the relative contents of P, Ca and Zn were normalized by antler blood treatment (p<0.05). Our experiments revealed that loss of element Ca, P, Zn and Sr was closely related to the BMD reduction in ovariectomized rats and the anti-osteoporotic effect of antler blood was mediated by increasing the contents of P, Ca and Zn.
Highlights
The human skeleton is composed of organic matter, inorganic matter and water
Using synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence (SRXRF) microprobe, the results showed that the relative contents of P, Ca, Zn and Sr on femur in OVX group were obviously lower than that in SHAM group (p < 0.05)
Our results showed that the low bone mineral density (BMD) (p < 0.05) in OVX rats was accompanied by decrease of Ca, P, Zn and Sr contents (p < 0.05)
Summary
Inorganic matter includes the macroelements Ca, P, Na, K and the trace elements Mg, Mn, Fe, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Sr and so on. These elements are enveloped in organic protein collagen, influence the process of remodeling by affecting bone mineral crystal size, density and solubility and closely related to the bone structure [1,2]. Antler blood is a traditional Chinese herb medicine and our experiment showed that antler blood treatment could increase the BMD in ovariectomized rats which is considered to be a standard osteoporosis model similar to human postmenopausal osteoporosis due to estrogen deficiency. Little is known about the relationship between the change of element content and BMD increase in antler blood-treated ovariectomized rats
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