title: Curcumin Protects against Ovariectomy-Induced Bone Changes in Rat Model.
abstract: Osteoporosis is a metabolic disease affecting both men and women especially in postmenopausal women. Curcumin possesses many medicinal properties. In this study, thirty two female Sprague-Dawley rats were used to determine the potential effect of curcumin in prevention of bone loss following ovariectomy. The animals were divided into Sham group, ovariectomised control, ovariectomised treated with curcumin 110 mg/kg and ovariectomised treated with Premarin 100 μg/kg. The treatments were given via daily oral gavages for 60 days. The structural parameters such as bone volume, trabecular number, trabecular thickness and trabecular separation were found to be deteriorated in ovariectomised rats compared to Sham group. Moreover, the reduced osteoblast count, the increased osteoclast count and increased eroded surface were found in ovariectomised groups. Treatment with curcumin was able to reverse all these ovariectomy-induced deteriorations. Curcumin treatment was as effective as Premarin in most parameters except the bone volume and eroded surface, which were better than Premarin. The high dose of curcumin treatment was not only able to reduce the osteoclast number but also increase the osteoblast count. Therefore, the potential effect of curcumin can be applied as an alternative to oestrogen for prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Farida
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hussan
authors.forename: Nawwar Ghassan
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Ibraheem
authors.forename: Taty Anna
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Kamarudin
authors.forename: Ahmad Nazrun
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Shuid
authors.forename: Ima Nirwana
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Soelaiman
authors.forename: Faizah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Othman