Assessing the Effectiveness ofPanchatikta Ghrita, a Classical Ayurvedic Formulation as Add-on Therapy to Vitamin D₃and Calcium Supplements in Patients with Osteopenia: A Randomized, Open-Labeled, Comparative, Controlled Clinical Study

Vitamin D and Calcium in Osteoporosis, and the Role of Bone Turnover Markers: A Narrative Review of Recent Data from RCTs

“…In total, nine studies fulfilling the inclusion criteria were identified (total n = 1568 subjects) [ 21 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 52 ]. The studies were conducted in several countries, i.e., USA [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 52 ], Lebanon [ 26 , 52 ], Turkey [ 25 ], Australia [ 21 ], India [ 27 ], and China [ 24 ]. The mean age of participants ranged from 32 to 71 y, and most of them included only women [ 25 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 52 ] or mostly women [ 24 ].…”

“…The mean age of participants ranged from 32 to 71 y, and most of them included only women [ 25 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 52 ] or mostly women [ 24 ]. The minimum treatment duration was 16 weeks [ 21 ], some studies had a 6 month intervention period [ 25 , 29 ], and most studies had a 12 month [ 24 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 30 , 52 ] intervention period. The dose of vitamin D ranged from 400 IU per day to 4800 IU per day, and the dose of administered dietary and supplementary calcium ranged from 200 mg to 1500 mg per day.…”

“…All [ 21 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 29 , 30 , 52 ] but one study [ 28 ] measured BMD before and after the intervention. Increases in total BMD were observed in several studies [ 26 , 27 , 29 , 52 ], which were more significant in high-dose supplemented groups [ 26 , 52 ].…”

“…All [ 21 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 29 , 30 , 52 ] but one study [ 28 ] measured BMD before and after the intervention. Increases in total BMD were observed in several studies [ 26 , 27 , 29 , 52 ], which were more significant in high-dose supplemented groups [ 26 , 52 ]. More specifically, 3750 IU vitamin D/day and 1000 mg Ca/day were compared to 600 IU vitamin D/day and 1000 Ca/day, and the high dose was more effective in increasing BMD [ 26 , 52 ].…”

“…However, the recent data are quite contradictory. Some studies showed that calcium supplementation combined with vitamin D reduced the risk of fractures [ 24 , 25 , 26 ], while others showed no effect [ 21 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. A meta-analysis suggested that concomitant supplementation with calcium and vitamin D led to a significantly reduced risk of total fractures by 15% (summary relative risk estimates, SRRE: 0.85; 95% CI, 0.73–0.98) and a 30% reduced risk of hip fractures (SRRE: 0.70; 95% CI, 0.56–0.87) [ 31 ].…”