2. Academic Validation
  3. (-)-Epiafzelechin Protects against Ovariectomy-induced Bone Loss in Adult Mice and Modulate Osteoblastic and Osteoclastic Functions In Vitro

(-)-Epiafzelechin Protects against Ovariectomy-induced Bone Loss in Adult Mice and Modulate Osteoblastic and Osteoclastic Functions In Vitro

  • Nutrients. 2017 May 22;9(5):530. doi: 10.3390/nu9050530.
Ka-Chun Wong 1 2,  Sisi Cao 3 4,  Xiaoli Dong 5 6,  Man-Chun Law 7,  Tak-Hang Chan 8 9,  Man-Sau Wong 10 11 12
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology (Incubation), Shenzhen 518057, China. aguesses@yahoo.com.hk.
  • 2 Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. aguesses@yahoo.com.hk.
  • 3 State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology (Incubation), Shenzhen 518057, China. sissi.cao@connect.polyu.hk.
  • 4 Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. sissi.cao@connect.polyu.hk.
  • 5 Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. xiaoli.dong@polyu.edu.hk.
  • 6 Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Food Biological Safety Control, Shenzhen 518057, China. xiaoli.dong@polyu.edu.hk.
  • 7 Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. manchunlaw@hotmail.com.
  • 8 Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. tak-hang.chan@polyu.edu.hk.
  • 9 Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0B8, Canada. tak-hang.chan@polyu.edu.hk.
  • 10 State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology (Incubation), Shenzhen 518057, China. man-sau.wong@polyu.edu.hk.
  • 11 Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. man-sau.wong@polyu.edu.hk.
  • 12 Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Food Biological Safety Control, Shenzhen 518057, China. man-sau.wong@polyu.edu.hk.
PMID: 28531166 DOI: 10.3390/nu9050530
Abstract

The present study was designed to characterize the bone protective effects of (-)-epiafzelechin (EAF), a flavan-3-ol, in mature ovariectomized mice model and its ability to stimulate osteoblastic activity and inhibit osteoclastic activity. Mature C57BL/6 mice (three to four months old) were either ovariectomised (OVX) or sham-operated and subjected to treatment (vehicle, 17β-oestradiol (E2, 200 μg/kg/day) or EAF (500 μg/kg/day) orally for six weeks. EAF and E2 significantly reduced urinary calcium (CA) excretion, serum osteocalcin (OCN), and urinary deoxy-pyridinoline (DPD); increased bone mineral density (BMD); and improved micro-architectural properties in OVX mice. EAF significantly increased cell viability, alkaline phosphatise (ALP) activity, and collagen content, as well as runt-related transcriptional factor 2 (Runx2) mRNA expression in murine osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. In addition, EAF significantly reduced the viability of osteoclast precursor murine leukemia monocyte RAW 264.7 cells and tartrate-resistant Acid Phosphatase (TRAP) activities in mature osteoclastic RAW 264.7 cells. EAF is a bioactive flavan-3-ol that protects estrogen deficiency-induced bone loss in OVX mice and exerts direct modulating effects in bone cells in vitro.

Keywords

(−)-epiafzelechin; flavan-3-ol; osteoclastogenesis; osteogenesis; ovariectomised; trabecular bone.

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