Opuntia humifusa Supplementation Increased Bone Density by Regulating Parathyroid Hormone and Osteocalcin in Male Growing Rats

Abstract

We investigated the effect of Opuntia humifusa (O. humifusa) supplementation on bone density and related hormone secretion in growing male rats. Sixteen six-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups; control diet group (CG, n = 8), and experimental diet group (EG, n = 8). The rats in the CG were given a control diet and those in the EG were given 5% O. humifusa added to the control diet for eight weeks. The serum OC level of the EG was significantly higher than that of the CG, and the serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) level of EG was significantly lower than that of the CG. In addition, the femoral and tibial BMD of the EG were significantly higher values than those of the CG, and the tibial BMC of the EG was significantly higher than that of the CG. These results suggest that O. humifusa supplementation has a positive effect on bone density by suppressing PTH and increasing the OC level in growing male rats.

Effect of Opuntia humifusa Supplementation and Acute Exercise on Insulin Sensitivity and Associations with PPAR-γ and PGC-1α Protein Expression in Skeletal Muscle of Rats

“…In addition, serum insulin level and HOMA-IR were showed significantly lower in the OS compared to the HS. Therefore, these results suggest that O. humifusa supplementation, which is rich in fiber and minerals [14], could potentially lower glucose levels.…”

“…Of these, Opuntia humifusa ( O. humifusa ) is a member of the Cactaceae family that has been cultivated to grow in cold environments below −20 °C [13] and in large quantities in Asan, Chungnam, South Korea. In particular, O. humifusa is repleted of not only Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , and K + [14] but also flavonoids, such as quercetin [15] and is widely used as a nutritional supplementation source. According to the previous studies, however, while Opuntia ficus-indica ( O. ficus-indica ), another member of Cactaceae family, is well documented in biochemical, biological, and pharmacological studies regarding anti-inflammatory [16], anti-cancer [17], and antioxidant effects [18], few studies have been reported in relation to O. humifusa [14,15,19].…”

“…In particular, O. humifusa is repleted of not only Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , and K + [14] but also flavonoids, such as quercetin [15] and is widely used as a nutritional supplementation source. According to the previous studies, however, while Opuntia ficus-indica ( O. ficus-indica ), another member of Cactaceae family, is well documented in biochemical, biological, and pharmacological studies regarding anti-inflammatory [16], anti-cancer [17], and antioxidant effects [18], few studies have been reported in relation to O. humifusa [14,15,19]. In a previous study, Hahm et al ., reported that oral supplementation of suspended O. humifusa in distilled water has an antidiabetic effect due to reduced blood glucose levels in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats by increasing the relative beta cell volume in pancreas [19].…”

Opuntia humifusamodulates morphological changes characteristic of asthma via IL-4 and IL-13 in an asthma murine model

“…Recently, it has been shown to have antifungal [23] and anticancer [24,25] properties, as well as to improve insulin sensitivity [26] and increase bone density [27]. The objective of this study was to analyze the possible anti-asthmatic effects of O. humifusa and their mechanisms.…”

Aqueous extract from Opuntia megapotamica fruit pulp promotes osteoblast activity

“…Various Opuntia species have shown a variety of biological effects: hypoglycemic and lipid-lowering [32][33][34][35], antioxidant [36][37][38][39][40], analgesic [41], anti-infl ammatory [41], antiviral [42], hepatoprotective [43], antiulcerogenic [36], antiatherogenic [44] and antitumorigenic [45,46], actions, among others. The consumption of dehydrated cladodes of Opuntia fi cus indica, source of bioavailable calcium, improves Bone Mineral Density (BMD) in adult women with low bone mass [47] and in weaned growing rats [48,49] On the other hand, the ethanolic extract of this same species prevents the decrease of bone mineral density induced by ovariectomy in rats [50]. The oral supply of polysaccharides isolated from cladodes, seeds and fruit pulp of Opuntia humifusa produces benefi cial effects on the bone trabecular mass and on the structural properties of bone in ovariectomized female mice and rats with osteoporosis [51,52].…”