title: Effect of formononetin on mechanical properties and chemical composition of bones in rats with ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis.
abstract: Formononetin is a naturally occurring isoflavone, which can be found in low concentrations in many dietary products, but the greatest sources of this substance are Astragalus membranaceus, Trifolium pratense, Glycyrrhiza glabra, and Pueraria lobata, which all belong to Fabaceae family. Due to its structural similarity to 17 β -estradiol, it can mimic estradiol's effect and therefore is considered as a "phytoestrogen." The aim of this study was to examine the effect of formononetin on mechanical properties and chemical composition of bones in rats with ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis. 12-week-old female rats were divided into 4 groups: sham-operated, ovariectomized, ovariectomized treated with estradiol (0.2 mg/kg) and ovariectomized treated with formononetin (10 mg/kg). Analyzed substances were administered orally for 4 weeks. Ovariectomy caused osteoporotic changes, which can be observed in bone biomechanical features (decrease of maximum load and fracture load and increase of displacements for maximum and fracture loads) and bone chemical composition (increase of water and organic fraction content, while a decrease of minerals takes place). Supplementation with formononetin resulted in slightly enhanced bone mechanical properties and bone chemistry improvement (significantly lower water content and insignificantly higher mineral fraction content). To summarize, administration of formononetin to ovariectomized rats shows beneficial effect on bone biomechanical features and chemistry; thus, it can prevent osteoporosis development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, Medical University of Silesia, Poniatowskiego 15, 40-055 Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Ilona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kaczmarczyk-Sedlak
authors.forename: Weronika
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wojnar
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zych
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ozimina-Kamińska
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Taranowicz
authors.forename: Agata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Siwek