title: Bone protection effects of a novel Chinese herbal formula, taikong yangxin prescription, in hindlimb unloaded rats against bone deterioration.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the protective effects of a Chinese herbal formula, taikong yangxin prescription (TKYXP) against bone deterioration in a hindlimb unloaded (tail-suspension) rat model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups: tail-suspension group fed with 2.5 g•kg(-1)•day(-1) of TKYXP extract (high dose), tail-suspension group fed with 1.25 g•kg(-1)•day(-1) (low dose), tail-suspended group treated with water placebo (placebo control group) and non tail-suspended group. The effects of TKYXP on bone were assessed using peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT), microcomputerized tomography (micro-CT) and three-point bending biomechanical test on the femur in vivo.
  
  
  RESULTS
  TKYXP had a significant protective effect against bone loss induced by tail-suspension on day 28, as shown in the reduction in bone mineral density (BMD) loss, preservation of bone micro-architecture and biomechanical strength. The administration ofhigh dose TKYXP could significantly reduce the total BMD loss by 4.8% and 8.0% at the femur and tibia regions, respectively, compared with the placebo control group (P<0.01) on day 28. Its bone protective effect on the femur was further substantiated by the increases of the trabecular BMD (by 6.6%), bone volume fraction (by 20.9%), trabecular number (by 9.5%) and thickness (by 11.9%) as compared with the placebo control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TKYXP may protect the bone under weightless influence from gradual structural deterioration in the tail-suspension model.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.|State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Chun-hay
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.|State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Wing-sum
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Siu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.|State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Chung-lap
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.|State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Chi-man
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Koon
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.|State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Kwok-pui
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Fung
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Space Medicine Fundamentals and Application, China Astronaut research and Training Center, Beijing, 100094, China.
authors.forename: Yong-zhi
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Space Medicine Fundamentals and Application, China Astronaut research and Training Center, Beijing, 100094, China.
authors.forename: Ying-hui
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. pingcleung@cuhk.edu.hk.|State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. pingcleung@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Ping-chung
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Leung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects; D015519:Bone Density / Q000187:drug effects; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005269:Femur; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013977:Tibia; D015898:Tomography Scanners, X-Ray Computed; D014893:Weightlessness; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C000597953:taikong yanxin
keywords: Chinese herbal medicine; micro-computerized tomography; osteoporosis peripheral quantitative computed tomography; tail-suspension rat model