1. Influence of ferutinin on bone metabolism in ovariectomized rats. II: role in recovering osteoporosis.
- Author
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Ferretti M, Bertoni L, Cavani F, Zavatti M, Resca E, Carnevale G, Benelli A, Zanoli P, and Palumbo C
- Subjects
- Animals, Benzoates pharmacology, Body Weight drug effects, Bone Density Conservation Agents pharmacology, Bone and Bones metabolism, Bone and Bones pathology, Bridged Bicyclo Compounds pharmacology, Bridged Bicyclo Compounds therapeutic use, Calcium blood, Cycloheptanes pharmacology, Disease Models, Animal, Drug Evaluation, Preclinical, Estrogens deficiency, Female, Femur drug effects, Femur metabolism, Femur pathology, Lumbar Vertebrae drug effects, Lumbar Vertebrae metabolism, Lumbar Vertebrae pathology, Magnesium blood, Osteoporosis pathology, Osteoporosis physiopathology, Ovariectomy, Phosphorus blood, Rats, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Sesquiterpenes pharmacology, Benzoates therapeutic use, Bone Density Conservation Agents therapeutic use, Bone and Bones drug effects, Cycloheptanes therapeutic use, Osteoporosis drug therapy, Sesquiterpenes therapeutic use
- Abstract
The aim of the present investigation, which represents an extension of a previous study, was to investigate the effect of ferutinin in recovering severe osteoporosis due to estrogen deficiency after rat ovariectomy and to compare phytoestrogen effects with those of estrogens commonly used in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. The animal model used was the Sprague-Dawley ovariectomized rat. Ferutinin was orally administered (2 mg kg(-1) per day) for 30 or 60 days starting from 2 months after ovariectomy (i.e. when osteoporosis was clearly evident) and its effects were compared with those of estradiol benzoate (1.5 microg per rat twice a week, subcutaneously injected) vs. vehicle-treated ovariectomized (OVX) and sham-operated (SHAM) rats. Histomorphometric analyses were performed on trabecular bone of lumbar vertebrae (4th and 5th) and distal femoral epiphysis, as well as on cortical bone of femoral diaphysis. Bone histomorphometric analyses showed that ferutinin seems to display the same effects on bone mass recorded with estradiol benzoate, thus suggesting that it could enhance the recovery of bone loss due to severe estrogen deficiency in OVX rats. On this basis, the authors propose listing ferutinin among the substances representing a potential alternative for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis, which occurs as a result of estrogen deficiency.
- Published
- 2010
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