Preliminary Study on Effect of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum on Osteoporosis in the Ovariectomized Rat

Osteoporosis is a growing global health concern primarily associated with decreased estrogen in postmenopausal women. Recently, some strains of probiotics were examined for potential anti-osteoporotic effects. This study intended to evaluate the impacts of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum MGE 3038 strain (MGE 3038) in ovariectomized rats. For this purpose, twelve weeks old female Wistar rats (n=21; 250-300 g) were divided into 3 groups; ovariectomy (OVX) group, OVX/MGE 3038 group and Sham group (control). In these groups; two went through respective OVX and one had daily MGE 3038 administration through oral gavage. Prior to 16 weeks after OVX, we collected blood samples and extracted the tibiae. We scanned the extracted tibiae by in-vivo micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and evaluated pathology by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson's trichrome staining. The serum levels of C-telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), osteocalcin (OC), and the receptor activator of nuclear factor-ĸB ligand (RANKL) were examined. The OVX/MGE 3038 group showed increases in bone mineral density, trabecular bone volume, trabecular number, and trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), and a decrease in trabecular spacing than the OVX group. However, OVX/MGE 3038 group and control group were measurably comparable in Tb.Th. Micro-CT, H&E, and Masson's trichrome findings exhibited increased preservation and maintenance of trabecular bone structure in the OVX/MGE 3038 group in comparison to the OVX group. In serum, the levels of CTX, OC and RANKL were significantly different between the OVX and OVX/MGE 3038 groups. Taken together, L. plantarum MGE 3038 could be helpful for the treatment of osteoporosis.