Deng Ya-Ting, Kang Wen-Bo, Zhao Jian-Ning, Liu Gang, Zhao Ming-Gao
Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Department of Orthopedics, Jinling Hospital, Clinical School of Nanjing, Second Military Medical University, Nanjing, China.
PLoS One. 2015 Aug 28;10(8):e0136572. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136572. eCollection 2015.
Echinocystic acid (EA) is a natural triterpone enriched in various herbs and has been used for medicinal purposes in China. In the present study, we systematically examined the effects of EA on ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats for the first time. Three-month-old female ovariectomy (OVX) Sprague-Dawley rats were used to evaluate the osteoprotective effect of EA. Results showed that administration of EA (5 or 15 mg/kg/day) for 12 weeks prevented lower levels of maximum stress and Young's modulus of femur induced by OVX. EA also recovered bone metabolic biomarkers levels in OVX rats, including osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatese, deoxypyridinoline, and urinary calcium and phosphorus. EA (5 and 15 mg/kg/day) could prevent the alteration of total bone mineral density in the femur caused by OVX. However, only high dose (15 mg/kg/day) of EA significantly improved trabecular architecture, as evidenced by higher levels of bone volume/tissue volume, trabecula number, and trabecula thickness, and lower levels of trabecula separation and structure model index compared with OVX rats. In addition, EA treatment decresed the serum levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in OVX rats. In conclusion, EA could prevent reduction of bone mass and strength and improve the cancellous bone structure and biochemical properties in OVX rats. Hence, EA may serve as a new candidate or a leading compound for anti-osteoporosis.
echinocystic acid（EA）是一种富含于多种草药中的天然三萜类化合物，在中国已被用于药用。在本研究中，我们首次系统地研究了EA对去卵巢诱导的大鼠骨质疏松症的影响。使用3个月大的雌性去卵巢（OVX）Sprague-Dawley大鼠来评估EA的骨保护作用。结果表明，连续12周给予EA（5或15mg/kg/天）可预防OVX诱导的股骨最大应力和杨氏模量降低。EA还恢复了OVX大鼠的骨代谢生物标志物水平，包括骨钙素、碱性磷酸酶、脱氧吡啶啉以及尿钙和磷。EA（5和15mg/kg/天）可预防OVX引起的股骨总骨矿物质密度改变。然而，只有高剂量（15mg/kg/天）的EA能显著改善小梁结构，与OVX大鼠相比，骨体积/组织体积、小梁数量和小梁厚度水平更高，小梁间距和结构模型指数水平更低，这证明了这一点。此外，EA治疗降低了OVX大鼠血清中IL-1β和TNF-α的水平。总之，EA可以预防OVX大鼠骨量和骨强度的降低，并改善松质骨结构和生化特性。因此，EA可能成为抗骨质疏松的新候选药物或先导化合物。
