Prevention and trerapeutic effect of water extract of Epimedium on bone loss induced by high-fat emulsion in rats

OBJECTIVE To study the effect of Epimedium on the longitudinal proximal tibial metaphyseal(PTM),the fifth lumbar vertebral body(LVB) and tibial shaft(Tx) by using bone histomorphometry through establishing a osteopenia rat model induced by high-fat emulsion.METHODS Thirty 3-months-old male Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats were randomly divided into NS group,HFE group,WE group.Rats were sacrificed after 20 weeks,Serum TC,TG,and HDL-c levels were measured,PTM,LVB and Tx sections were performed undecalcifiedly and used for bone histomorphometric analysis.RESULTS Compared with HFE treated group,serum TC decreased and HDL-c increased significantly In PTM of Epimedium treated rats,%Tb.Ar,Tb.N and %Ob.S.Pm increased,while Tb.Sp,%Oc.S.Pm and Oc.N/mm decreased.In Tx,%Ct.Ar increased,while %Ma.Ar decreased.In LVB,%Tb.Ar and Tb.N were increased,while Tb.Sp decreased.CONCLUSION Long-term high-fat diets can cause the loss of bone in rats,Epimedium could prevent those changes through stimulating periosteal bone formation.