The Role of Functional Foods and Their Bioactive Components in Bone Health

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a chronic disorder characterized by a loss of bone mass and quality leading to an increased risk of fragility fractures. It afflicts millions of men and women worldwide and as such is a major public health problem. Certain lifestyle factors, including nutrition, are known to reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis and therefore play an important role in bone health. Epigenetics refers to heritable changes in gene expression that occur without changing the underlying DNA sequence. Environmental factors such as nutrition can lead to epigenetic changes which consequently may influence bone health. For instance, nutritional status during pregnancy or other critical periods of development may lead to epigenetic modifications that negatively influence gene expression leading to osteoporosis later in life. There is evidence to support epigenetic involvement in bone metabolism and the pathogenesis of osteoporosis; however, the evidence is limited and its involvement in the development of osteoporosis is not well understood and largely remains unknown. In addition, there is quite a paucity of evidence to date regarding the relationship between epigenetics, nutrition, and bone health and is therefore even less understood. This chapter describes the existing evidence regarding functional foods and their bioactive components on the prevention and reversal of bone loss in animal models and humans. The research conducted in this area to date has not investigated the underlying mechanisms by which these foods and their bioactive components modulate bone metabolism with respect to epigenetics. However, many of the findings can lead one to speculate about a possible involvement of epigenetics and sets the stage for future research to take this into consideration.