Department of Pharmacology, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tong Jia Xiang, Nanjing, 210009, People's Republic of China.
J Nat Med. 2010 Jul;64(3):336-45. doi: 10.1007/s11418-010-0416-7. Epub 2010 Apr 8.
To examine the effects of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS), the main active components of Panax notoginseng, on ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats. A total of 72 six-month-old female rats were randomly assigned to sham-operated group and five ovariectomized (OVX) groups: OVX with distilled water (5 ml/kg/day, p.o.), OVX with graded doses of PNS (75, 150, 300 mg/kg/day, p.o.), and OVX with nilestriol (1 mg/kg/week, p.o.). Animals were sacrificed after a 13-week treatment course. Compared with the OVX group, PNS administration prevented OVX-induced decrease in bone mineral density (BMD) of lumbar vertebrae and total femur, and significantly increased bone structural biomechanical properties. Improvements of BMD and biomechanical properties were accompanied by the beneficial changes of PNS on trabecular microarchitecture in the tibial metaphysis. PNS at the highest dose significantly prevent decrease in trabecular bone volume over bone total volume, trabecular number, trabecular thickness, connectivity density, and increase in trabecular separation and structure model index in OVX rats. The bone-modulating effects of PNS may be due to the increased bone formation and decreased bone resorption, as was evidenced by the elevated level of serum alkaline phosphatase and decreased level of urinary deoxypyridinoline. PNS treatment is able to enhance BMD, bone strength, and prevent the deterioration of trabecular microarchitecture without hyperplastic effect on uterus. Therefore, PNS might be a potential alternative medicine for the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.
为了研究三七总皂苷（Panax notoginseng saponins，PNS），即三七的主要活性成分，对去卵巢大鼠骨质疏松症的影响。将 72 只 6 月龄雌性大鼠随机分为假手术组和 5 个去卵巢组：去卵巢加蒸馏水（5 ml/kg/天，灌胃）、去卵巢加不同剂量 PNS（75、150、300 mg/kg/天，灌胃）和去卵巢加尼尔雌醇（1 mg/kg/周，灌胃）。动物在治疗 13 周后处死。与去卵巢组相比，PNS 给药可预防去卵巢引起的腰椎和股骨总骨密度（bone mineral density，BMD）下降，并显著增加骨结构生物力学性能。BMD 和生物力学性能的改善伴随着 PNS 对胫骨干骺端小梁微结构的有益变化。最高剂量的 PNS 可显著防止去卵巢大鼠的骨小梁体积相对于骨总体积、骨小梁数量、骨小梁厚度、连接密度的下降，以及骨小梁分离度和结构模型指数的增加。PNS 的骨调节作用可能是由于血清碱性磷酸酶水平升高和尿脱氧吡啶啉水平降低，导致骨形成增加和骨吸收减少。PNS 治疗能够增加 BMD、骨强度，并防止小梁微结构恶化，而对子宫无增生作用。因此，PNS 可能是治疗绝经后骨质疏松症的一种潜在替代药物。
