Bone Protection ???

Green Tea Combined With Vitamin D May Offer Bone Protection

A study published recently in The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry found that green tea polyphenols (GTP) and alfacalcidol (1-a-OH-vitamin D3, a hydroxylated form of vitamin D) offer protection for bone microstructure attacked by chronic inflammation. The study claims to be the first to “report a bone-protective benefit of GTP and 1-a-OH-vitamin D3 on bone microarchitecture” and suggests that the related reduction of bone erosion and increased bone formation are related to the combined supplements’ suppression of proinflammatorycytokine tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a).

In the 12-week study, researchers used lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to simulate a state of chronic inflammation in female rats to measure the effect of the 2 supplements—each alone and in combination. Furthermore, the study measured levels of TNF-a.

A 2 (no GTP vs 0.5% w/v GTP in drinking water) × 2 (no alfacalcidol vs 0.05 ?g/kg alfacalcidol orally, 5x/wk) factorial design was employed in 40 lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-administered female rats. A group of 10 rats receiving placebo administration was used to compare with a group receiving LPS administration only to evaluate the effect of LPS.

Upon data collection, researchers found that bone samples from the group of rats administered LPS only (ie, no supplements) showed expected bone microarchitecture deterioration and elevated levels of proinflammatory TNF-a when compared to the placebo group.

LPS-treated groups given either GTP through drinking water or alfacalcidol administered orally also showed expected results as demonstrated in previous studies cited by the authors—that is to say, less bone loss and lower levels of TNF-a as compared to the LPS-only group.

Particular to this study, results from the combined usage of the 2 supplements demonstrated enhanced bone mass values that exceeded any other test group, while at the same time improving the overall strength of the femoral bones relative to the LPS-only group. Although the strength results were similar for the GTP, alfacalcidol, and combined supplement groups, the overall benefits of enhanced bone mass values resulting from the supplements together were enough to merit their use in combination.

All 3 supplement groups showed evidence of “significantly down-regulated TNF-a expression,” which is consistent with other antioxidants in studies that measured against the same LPS inducement of chronic inflammation. According to the authors, this corroborates the role of the test supplements in skeletal health, which “may reduce the risk of osteoporosis.”

The full study, “Protective Actions of Green Tea Polyphenols and Alfacalcidol on Bone Microstructure in Female Rats With Chronic Inflammation” by Shen et al, is available online at http://www.sciencedirect.com/

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