Evaluation of osteoporosis prevention by adlay using a tissue culture model

Adlay (Coix lachryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Stapf ) is a grass crop, which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine and also as a nourishing food. Recently, some studies have indicated that adlay possesses some pharmacological effects including anti-allergic, anti-mutagenic, hypolipemic, and anti-diabetic effects. However, the effect of adlay on osteoporosis is still unknown. In this study, we investigated and evaluated the effect of adlay seed on the osteoporosis prevention. The methods of in vitro cultures of neonatal rat calvaria tissues or adult rat femoral metaphyseal tissues of bones isolated from normal or ovariectomized female rats were used for further investigation. Treatment with water extract of adlay seed could reverse the decreased alkaline phosphatase activities and calcium levels and increased tartrate-resistant acidic phosphatase activities induced by parathyroid hormone in cultured metaphyseal tissues. In ovariectomized rats, the alkaline phosphatase activities and calcium levels were significantly decreased and tartrate-resistant acidic phosphatase activities were increased in femoral metaphyseal tissues as compared with sham-control. Treatment with water extract of adlay seed could counteract these effects in ovariectomized rats. Taken together, these findings imply that adlay is capable of reversing the osteoporotic status in rats, and may be a helpful healthy food for osteoporosis prevention.