A Japanese herbal medicine, Chujo-to, has a beneficial effect on osteoporosis in rats

✍ Scribed by Saburo Hidaka; Yoshizo Okamoto; Yuji Yamada; Yoichiro Kon; Takayoshi Kimura

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 474 KB
• Volume: 13
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0951-418X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1573(199902)13:1<14::aid-ptr375>3.0.co;2-v

✦ Synopsis

The inhibitory effects of a Japanese herbal medicine, Chujo-to, on the progress of bone loss induced by ovariectomy in rats were investigated. Ovariectomized rats were administered with Chujo-to during weeks 7-14 after ovariectomy. At 14 weeks, the bone mineral density of the tibia from ovariectomized (OVX) rats had decreased by 27% compared with those in the sham-operated rats, and by a 18%-21% and 16% decrease after the administration of Chujo-to and 17b-oestradiol, respectively. The surface of a trabecular bone of the tibia in ovariectomized rats had a porous and fibrous appearance, while that of the same bone in sham-operated rats was composed of fine particles. After the administration of Chujoto or 17b-oestradiol, the surface of trabecular bone maintained the porous and fibrous appearance. The uterine weight was not restored by Chujo-to but by 17b-oestradiol. These results suggest that Chujo-to has an efficacy on the osteoporosis of rats similar to 17b-oestradiol, but with a different mechanism.