¹School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Shandong Engineering Research Center for Natural Drugs, Yantai, Shandong Province, China

Abstract

Aim: To study on the effects of Cimicifuga extract from Cimicifuga foetida L. on biomechanical characteristics of femur in ovariectomized rats.

Methods: The osteoporosis were induced by ovariectomy. After three months, the concentrations of estradiol in serum was measured by electric radiation immunologic method. Bone density and mineral content of femur metaphysis of rats was measurd by Dual Energy X-ray Absorbtionmetry(DEXA). Biomechanical characteristics of femur were measured by three point bending test and the index of uterus was calculated.

Results: The bone density and mineral content of femur metaphysis of rats increased remarkably. The resistance of bending and compression of rat femur was enhanced. While, there is no effect on the level of estradiol and index of uterus.

Conclusions: Cimicifuga extract had antiosteoporotic effects on ovariectomized rats. The Cimicifuga extract exerted estrogenic effects in the bone, particularly in osteoblasts, while it didn't play a role in the uterus of variectomized rats. The extract appears to contain rat organ-specific selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), and if these findings can be approved in human it may be an alternative to hormone replacement therapy (HRT).