Effects of Chia-wei-hsiao-yao-san on Bone Loss in Ovariectomized Rats
SU-CHEN LEE1,8, SZU-HSIEN WU2, TING-HSIN HSIAO3, YU-CHIAO YANG4, YIN-CHUN TIEN5, BAI-HSIUN CHEN1, HSU MA2, FA-LAI YEH2, SZU-YING WU6 AND LI-YU TSAI7,8*
1. Department of Clinical Laboratory, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
2. Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
3. Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
4. Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
5. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
6. School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, R.O.C.
7. Faculty of Biomedical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
8. Division of Clinical Biochemistry, Department of Clinical Laboratory,Kaohsiung Medical University Affiliated Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
(Received: January 28, 2005; Accepted: May 18, 2005)
ABSTRACT
Preventive effects of two traditional Chinese medicines, Chia-wei-hsiao-yao-san and Kuei-lu-erh-hsien-chiao, on the bone loss induced by ovariectomy in Long-Evans rats were investigated. The rats were divided randomly into five groups. The first group was given a sham operation with administration of distilled water, whereas the second, third and fourth groups were ovariectomized with administration of distilled water, Kuei-lu-erh-hsien-chiao and Chia-wei-hsiao-yao-san, respectively. The rats of the fifth group were embedded by intraperitoneal with a silicon tube containing 17 β-estradiol (10% in cholesterol) at a dose of 10 μg/kg. Eight weeks later, the mean differences of spinal bone mineral density (BMD) in groups 1, 4 and 5 were significantly higher than that in group 2. The mean differences of plasma alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in groups 1 and 5 were significantly lower than those in group 2, but there were no significant differences between groups 1 and 5. In histologic analysis, the cross sections from lower third of the tibial shaft in group 3 showed more mucopolysaccharide accumulation than those in groups 4 and 5. The urinary N-telopeptide of type I collagen (NTx) levels did not differ significantly among groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Nevertheless, the mean differences of urinary deoxypyridinoline (Dpd) levels in group 5 were significantly higher than those in group 2. 17 β-estradiol and Chia-wei-hsiao-yao-san showed more profound effect than Kuei-lu-erh-hsien-chiao in the prevention of bone loss in the ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Although 17 β-estradiol exerted more profound effect, Chia-wei-hsiao-yao-san showed good compliance and safety for relief of climacteric symptoms for postmenopausal women in a previous study. Therefore, Chia-wei-hsiao-yao-san might be an alternative for preventing bone loss.
Key words: 17 β-estradiol, Chia-wei-hsiao-yao-san, Kuei-lu-erh-hsien-chiao, ovariectomized, osteoporosis