Premium
Bone microarchitecture and strength are not enhanced by onion in an ovariectomized rat model
Author(s) -
Lanfair Deborah,
Deyhim Farzad,
Patil Bhimanagouda S.,
Stoecker Barbara J.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.22.1_supplement.1107.7
Subject(s) - ovariectomized rat , tibia , osteoporosis , bone mineral , cortical bone , bone resorption , lumbar vertebrae , chemistry , medicine , anatomy , lumbar , estrogen
Onion contains an abundance of flavones and was previously found to have beneficial effects on bone quality. Our study examined the potential of four varieties of onion to prevent bone loss in an ovariectomized (OVX) rat model for osteoporosis. Female Sprague‐Dawley rats were fed the AIN‐G diet and were sham‐operated or ovariectomized at 90 days of age. One of the OVX groups received the same dietary treatment as the SHAM group and the other four groups had diets supplemented with 5% of one of four different varieties of freeze‐dried onion. The experimental period continued for 60 days. At necropsy, the tibia and 4th lumbar vertebra (L 4 ) were removed. Bone mineral density (BMD) of the tibia was assessed using Hologic dual energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DEXA) with high resolution software. Tibia and L 4 were scanned each 20 microns using microcomputed tomography (μCT) (Scanco Medical, Ltd). Microarchitecture of trabecular bone was evaluated on a contoured volume of interest (VOI) from L 4 . Cortical bone was evaluated at the tibia midshaft. OVX significantly reduced BMD, trabecular bone quality and force for compression of the VOI from L 4 , but supplementation with onion did not improve any parameters of bone quality. Cortical bone at the tibia midshaft was not affected by treatment. Consuming some fruits and vegetables inhibits bone resorption, which may be because of their antioxidant content. However, under our experimental conditions, onion did not inhibit bone loss due to ovariectomy.