Eurycoma longifolia upregulates osteoprotegerin gene expression in androgen- deficient osteoporosis rat model

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Research Article

Halimaton Saadiah Abdul Razak¹  Norazlina Mohamed²  Ima Nirwana Soelaiman²  Eman El-arabi²  Nadia Mohd Effendy²  Ahmad Nazrun Shuid²  Norliza Muhammad² 

[1] Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, National University of Malaysia (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia), Jalan Raja Muda Abd Aziz, 50300, KL, Malaysia;Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Malaysia (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia), Jalan Raja Muda Abd Aziz, 50300, KL, Malaysia;

关键词: Eurycoma longifolia;    Osteoporosis;    Orchiectomy;    OPG;    RANKL;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1472-6882-12-152

 received in 2012-02-13, accepted in 2012-08-31,  发布年份 2012

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundEurycoma longifolia (EL) has been shown recently to protect against bone calcium loss in orchidectomised rats, the model for androgen-deficient osteoporosis. The mechanism behind this is unclear but it may be related to its ability to elevate testosterone levels or it may directly affect bone remodeling. The aim of this study is to determine the mechanism involved by investigating the effects of EL extract on serum testosterone levels, bone biomarkers, biomechanical strength and gene expression of Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL), Osteoprotegerin (OPG) and Macrophage-Colony Stimulating Factor (MCSF) in orchidectomised rats.MethodsThirty-two male Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into: Sham-operated group (SHAM); orchidectomised-control group (ORX); orchidectomised and given 15 mg/kg EL extract (ORX + EL) and orchidectomised and given 8 mg/kg testosterone (ORX + T). The rats were treated for 6 weeks. The serum levels of testosterone, osteocalcin and C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX) were measured using the ELISA technique. The femoral bones were subjected to biomechanical testing. The tibial bone gene expressions of RANKL, OPG and MCSF were measured using the branch DNA technique.ResultsThe post-treatment level of testosterone was found to be significantly reduced by orchiectomy (p < 0.05). Both ORX + EL and ORX + T groups have significantly higher post-treatment testosterone levels compared to their pre-treatment levels (p < 0.05). The bone resorption marker (CTx) was elevated after orchiectomy but was suppressed after treatment in the ORX + EL and ORX + T groups (p < 0.05). There was no significant finding for the femoral biomechanical parameters. The tibial OPG gene expression in the ORX group was significantly lower compared to the SHAM and ORX + EL groups (p < 0.05).ConclusionSupplementation with EL extract elevated the testosterone levels, reduced the bone resorption marker and upregulated OPG gene expression of the orchidectomised rats. These actions may be responsible for the protective effects of EL extract against bone resorption due to androgen deficiency.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Shuid et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012