Consumption of various beans and bone metabolism in ovariectomized rats

This study investigated whether the consumption of various beans improved bone metabolism in ovariectomized rats. Female Sprague‐Dawley rats were either sham‐operated (Sham; n=7) or surgically ovariectomized and then fed a regular AIN‐93M diet (OVX, n=7) or AIN‐93M containing soybean (OVX‐S, n=7), mung bean (OVX‐M, n=7), cowpea (OVX‐C, n=7) or adzuki bean (OVX‐A, n=7) for ten weeks. No bean consumption significantly altered the body, subcutaneous fat, or uterus weight; however, consumption significantly increased the serum Ca:P ratio and decreased urinary Ca excretion compared to those of the OVX group. Serum concentration of 17¥â‐estradiol was significantly lower in the OVX group compared to that of the Sham group and was lowest in the OVX‐S group. Serum osteocalcin concentration was significantly higher in any OVX diet with beans than in the same diet without, but urinary deoxypyridinoline excretion was lowest in the OVX‐C group. There were no significant differences in BMD or BMC of the right femur, tibia, or lumbar spine or in the trabecular bone volume of the tibia among the diet groups. Although there were no significant differences in bone BMD, BMC, or microarchitecture, consumption of cowpea significantly increased bone formation and decreased bone resorption, suggesting that cowpeas may have a protective effect on bone loss in ovariectomized rats. This work was supported by KRDA.