Preservation of Bone Structure and Function by Lithothamnion sp. Derived Minerals

Abstract

Progressive bone mineral loss and increasing bone fragility are hallmarks of osteoporosis. A combination of minerals isolated from the red marine algae, Lithothamnion sp. was examined for ability to inhibit bone mineral loss in female mice maintained on either a standard rodent chow (control) diet or a high-fat western diet (HFWD) for 5-, 12- and 18-months. At each time-point, femora were subjected to μ-CT analysis and biomechanical testing. A subset of caudal vertebrae was also analyzed. Following this, individual elements were assessed in bones. Serum levels of the 5b isoform of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and procollagen type I propeptide (P1NP) were also measured. Trabecular bone loss occurred in both diets (evident as early as 5-months). Cortical bone increased through month-5 and then declined. Cortical bone loss was primarily in mice on the HFWD. Inclusion of the minerals in the diet reduced bone mineral loss in both diets and improved bone strength. Bone mineral density (BMD) was also enhanced by these minerals. Of several cationic minerals known to be important to bone health, only strontium was significantly increased in bone tissue from animals fed the mineral diets, but the increase was large (5–10 fold). Serum levels of TRAP were consistently higher in mice receiving the minerals but levels of P1NP were not. These data suggest that trace minerals derived from marine red algae may be used to prevent progressive bone mineral loss in conjunction with calcium. Mineral supplementation could find use as part of an osteoporosis - prevention strategy.

Bone structure and function in male C57BL/6 mice: Effects of a high-fat Western-style diet with or without trace minerals

“…The present study was carried out to assess effects of diet and mineral supplementation on bone structure/function in male C57BL/6 mice maintained on the same Western-style diet or on the same rodent chow diet as used previously with female mice. Findings from the present study with male mice are significantly different from results obtained previously with females ( Aslam et al, 2013 ). Whereas female mice lost bone mass and bone strength on either diet, in male mice, bone structure and function were largely preserved over an 18-month time-period on the healthy, rodent chow diet (AIN76A).…”

“…As true for humans, past studies have demonstrated that a high-fat diet contributes to bone mineral loss and increases bone fragility (i.e., promotes the osteoporotic phenotype) ( Zernicke et al, 1995 , Pelton et al, 2012 , Parhaml et al, 2001 , Glatt et al, 2007 , Ward et al, 2003 ). Our own past studies carried out with female C57BL/6 mice demonstrated that trabecular bone loss occurred rapidly (within 5 months) in animals fed a Western-style diet and continued over an 18-month period ( Aslam et al, 2010a , Aslam et al, 2013 ). Surprisingly, however, rapid bone loss was also seen in mice fed a low-fat rodent chow diet.…”

Potential for estimation of Young's modulus based on computed tomography numbers in bone: A validation study using a nano-indentation test on murine maxilla

“…The BMD values obtained from the μCT images of the mouse maxilla ranged from 0.83 g/cm 3 to 1.55 g/cm 3 , which were considerably larger than values of the previous data, which ranged from 0.12 g/ cm 3 to 1.00 g/cm 3 for the same strain of mice, C57BL/6J mice [27][28][29][30]. This might be partly attributed to the difference in the targeted bones, which could be a key factor determining the BMD values in mice [31].…”

“…This might be partly attributed to the difference in the targeted bones, which could be a key factor determining the BMD values in mice [31]. Spinal [29], tibia [28], and femoral bones [27,29,30] have been used in previous studies, while the maxillary bone was used in the present study. Technical factors, including the scanner type, voltage, and kernel [32], can also affect the magnitude of the CT numbers in μCT and quantitative computed tomography (QCT) images; thus, this could cause the large discrepancy in BMD values between the previous and present studies [8].…”

Seaweeds in Human Health

“…Actually, some varieties of seaweeds, such as A. nodosum, L. digitata, or Ulva spp., have been shown to have higher calcium content for 100-g wet weight than cow's milk (MacArtain et al, 2007). In an animal mouse model, an extract of Lithothamnion calcareum was shown to reduce bone mineral loss, improve bone strength, and increase bone mineral density (Aslam et al, 2013). Different mineral extracts from various algae were tested for prevention of bone mineral loss.…”