Evaluation of the preventive effect of isoflavone extract on bone loss in ovariectomized rats

To examine a potential role for soybean phytoestrogens in postmenopausal bone loss, twenty-four 12-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly into 4 groups and given controlled diets for 16 weeks. The treatment groups were as followed: sham operated, ovariectomized (OVX) control, OVX + isoflavone extract (6.25 g/kg), and OVX + 17beta-estradiol (4 mg/kg). OVX treatments reduced femoral and fourth lumbar vertebral bone density and mineral content (p<0.01), decreased uterine weight (p<0.01), accelerated body weight increases (p<0.05), and increased the activities (p<0.01) of both serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP). Supplementation with isoflavone prevented the losses of bone density and mineral content caused by OVX (p<0.01). Although both isoflavone and 17beta-estradiol exhibited similar bone-sparing ability on the OVX-induced bone loss, the effect of isoflavone was not the same as that of 17beta-estradiol on the serum ALP and TRAP, body weight increase, and uterine weight change. We concluded that dietary supplementation with soybean isoflavone can prevent postmenopausal bone loss via a different mechanism of estrogen in OVX rats.