The Anti-osteoporotic Effects Of Erythrina Variegata L

Osteoporosis is one of the most common senile diseases, which is becoming more and more serious with the increase of human average longevity and the intensity of the aging of population. Chinese traditional medicine has good effects on OP curing, and their character such as little side-effects, cheap and suitable for long-time administration makes it hot points of home and abroad.Ovariectomized rat is a common used animal model for postmenopausal osteoporosis. In present study, the effects of estrogen deficiency on the body weight, organ index, bone metabolic biochemical indexes and bone microstructure in rats were investigated, and the anti-osteoprotective effects and the mechanisms of the activity of the extract of Erythrina variegata L. (EV) in OVX rats were evaluated. The contents of calcium and phosphorus in serum and urine were determined by spectrophotometer, as well as the levels of serum alkaline phosphatase. Bone microstructure was measured by Micro-CT, and gene expression was assayed by RT-PCR. Compared with Sham rats, the body weight of OVX rats increased significantly. Ovariectomy resulted in high bone turnover, increased the uterus index, and damaged the bone microstructure. EV was orally administrated to OVX rats at the doses of 1000 mg/kg, 800 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg EV, which had a good anti-osteoporosis activity, which is attributed to the down-regulation of mRNA expression and increasing the OPG/RANKL ratio of the tibia in OVX rat. Besides, EV could protect kidney and thymus from ovariectomy, but had no influence on metratrophia, and did not affect the high expression of ERαmRNA in uterus. But EV could inhibited the ERβmRNA high expression in uterus in OVX rats, which suggested that EV could be a selective estrogen receptor modulator.In conclusion, EV could protect OVX rat from osteoporosis and have little effects on the uterus, which made it more efficient and safer anti-osteoporotic traditional Chinese medicine.