Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon.
J Physiol Biochem. 2012 Jun;68(2):219-27. doi: 10.1007/s13105-011-0133-z. Epub 2011 Dec 3.
Calcium is an essential nutrient required for critical biological functions. Calcium supplementation is to be evaluated using immature female rats. The present study focused on some blood parameters, gonadal development and bone structure. Forty immature female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four equal-sized groups (80 g average body weight) to receive calcium chloride dihydrate (group I: control; groups II, III and IV: received 20 mg, 40 mg and 60 mg per kg body weight, respectively) for 5 weeks. Rats were decapitated, and their trunk blood was sampled for biochemical assays. Cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose and calcium were measured. Gonadal and bone structure were histologically evaluated. Results revealed that treatment of developing female rats with three calcium doses used have no marked effect on the serum calcium and cholesterol levels. However, serum triglyceride level and body weight gain are significantly decreased in rats treated with all of the three calcium doses. Serum glucose level showed a marked increase in animals treated with the higher calcium doses. Moreover, observable histological alterations are recognized in the ovaries. Bones of the experimental animals also showed morphological alterations. These results suggest that increasing calcium supplementation decreases triglycerides and percentage body weight gain and positively affects the bone and gonadal development.
钙是一种必需的营养物质，对于关键的生物功能至关重要。需要使用未成熟雌性大鼠来评估钙补充剂。本研究集中在一些血液参数、性腺发育和骨骼结构上。40 只未成熟雌性 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠被随机分为四组（每组 80 只，平均体重 80g），分别给予二水合氯化钙（第 I 组：对照组；第 II、III 和 IV 组：分别给予 20mg、40mg 和 60mg/kg 体重）5 周。大鼠断头后，采集其躯干血液进行生化分析。测定胆固醇、甘油三酯、葡萄糖和钙。对性腺和骨骼结构进行组织学评估。结果表明，用三种剂量的钙处理发育中的雌性大鼠，对血清钙和胆固醇水平没有明显影响。然而，用三种剂量的钙处理后，血清甘油三酯水平和体重增加明显下降。葡萄糖水平在接受高剂量钙处理的动物中显著升高。此外，还观察到卵巢的组织学改变。实验动物的骨骼也表现出形态学改变。这些结果表明，增加钙补充剂可降低甘油三酯和体重增加百分比，并对骨骼和性腺发育产生积极影响。
