The Effect of Grouper Bone Nano-Calcium (GBN) and Medium-Chain Triglyceride (MCT) Supplementation on the...

The objective of this research was to investigate the calcium bioavailability and the influence of substituting synthetic calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) with grouper bone nano-calcium (GBN), and medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) with long-chain triglyceride (LCT) in the diet of ovariectomized rats maintained for 8 weeks. Twenty rats were randomly divided into four distinct groups: (1) The OX-C group: AIN-93M standard + synthetic CaCO₃; (2) the OX-D group: AIN-93M standard + no calcium; (3) the OX-1 group: AIN-93M standard + GBN; and (4) the OX-2 group: AIN-93M with MCT as lipid source + GBN. The test parameters conducted encompassed the evaluation of the rat's body weight, levels of calcium, phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase in rat blood serum, examination of the microstructure of rat tibiae by histomorphometry and femora bones by means of 3D micro-CT image analysis, and assessment of the strength of rat femora bones by the three-point bending. The results indicated that the GBN calcium diet groups (OX-1 and OX-2) were successful substitutes for synthetic CaCO₃ of the OX-C group. GBN calcium diet groups have shown superiority in terms of trabeculae thickness (Tb.Th), bone volume (BV/TV), bone mineral density (BMD), and particularly in bone strength evaluations. The GBN calcium diet groups exhibited serum calcium, serum phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase levels that were comparable to those of synthetic CaCO₃ calcium. As the calcium-deficient group, OX-D revealed a much lower and distinct performance than other groups. This research demonstrated that MCT exhibit comparable performance to LCT; however, it did not establish that substituting LCT for MCT was superior.