Combination therapy of Chinese herbal medicine Fructus Ligustri Lucidi with high calcium diet on calcium imbalance induced by ovariectomy in mice

Abstract

Context: Our previous biological study demonstrated that Fructus Ligustri Lucidi (FLL), the fruit of Ligustrum lucidum Ait. (Oleaceae), could be used to maintain calcium balance and prevent age-related osteoporosis since it effectively decreased calcium loss and increased calcium retention in rats.Objective: This study investigates the combination effect of the Chinese herbal medicine FLL and a high calcium diet on calcium imbalance induced by ovariectomy in mice. Materials and methods: The ovariectomized (OVX) mice were orally treated with vehicle, FLL extract (700 mg/kg), milk powder (5 g/mice) fortified with calcium (1.0% Ca) and the combination of FLL with milk powder. After 6 weeks of treatment, urine, serum, and tibia were preserved for biochemical analysis and kidneys were taken for gene expression analysis. Results: The combination treatment of FLL and a high calcium diet significantly increased bone calcium content (6.80 ± 0.34 mg) by 22% (p50.05) and decreased urine calcium excretion (0.099 ± 0.009 mg/mg) by 62% (p50.01) as compared with those of the OVX group (bone Ca, 5.57 ± 0.31 mg; urine Ca/Cr, 0.261 ± 0.017 mg/mg). The mRNA expression of renal calciumbinding protein-9k (CaBP-9k) and calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) in combination treatment group was significantly up-regulated and down-regulated, respectively, as compared with those of the OVX group. Conclusion: The beneficial effects of this combination therapy on calcium balance of OVX mice were, at least partially, attributed to its regulation on mRNA expression of CaBP-9k and CaSR in kidney.

Antioxidant Effect of Fructus Ligustri Lucidi Aqueous Extract in Ovariectomized Rats Is Mediated through Nox4-ROS-NF-κB Pathway

“…We and others demonstrate that FLL improves Bone mineral density (BMD) and bone microstructure as well as bone mechanical strength in both aged (Ko et al, 2010) and growing female rats (Feng et al, 2014) as well as ovariectomized (OVX) rats (Zhang et al, 2006; Lyu et al, 2014; Guo et al, 2016a). FLL exhibited bone protective effects by improving calcium absorption and balance via increasing gene expression of transient receptor potential vanilloid 6 and calcium-binding protein-9k, and by decreasing renal calcium-sensing receptor gene expression (Zhang Y. et al, 2014; Zhang et al, 2015) via stimulating 1.25(OH) 2 D 3 /vitamin D receptor signaling (Feng et al, 2014) through inducing the activity of renal 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1α hydroxylase (Dong et al, 2010), as well as by stimulating parathyroid hormone production in mature normal female rats (Dong et al, 2012) and in type 1 diabetic mice (Zhang Y. et al, 2014). Meanwhile, FLL was also demonstrated to promote osteogenesis by stimulating the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and accelerating the mineralization in human mesenchymal stem cells (Li et al, 2010) and UMR-106 cells (Wang et al, 2011).…”

Oleanolic Acid and Ursolic Acid Improve Bone Properties and Calcium Balance and Modulate Vitamin D Metabolism in Aged Female Rats

“…Therefore, the improvement of calcium balance in aged female rats by FLL and OA+UA might also be mediated by their effects on modulating serum PTH levels. Recent studies by Zhang et al (2015) reported that FLL and its water fraction modulated PTH level through antagonizing calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) in kidney and parathyroid gland in OVX mice and diabetic mice models (Zhang et al, 2014; Sha et al, 2017). Thus, it is possible that FLL and OA+UA might suppress secondary hyperparathyroidism in aged rats via their actions on CaSR in kidney and parathyroid glands.…”

Effect of Nano-Montmorillonite on Osteoblast Differentiation, Mineral Density, and Osteoclast Differentiation in Bone Formation

“…Deficiency of estrogen due to halted ovarian function is a pivotal role in the loss of bone mass in postmenopausal women [26]. Pathological factors for osteoporosis include imbalanced calcium (Ca) metabolism, decreased osteoblast activity, increased osteoclast function, and deficient estrogen production [27,28]. Generally, Ca has an important role in the human body, with various physiological functions.…”