| Research Abstract |
1. Basic study
The water-extracts of a newly developed vegetable, petit vert, was found to increase the mRNA expression of BMP and osteoprotegerin of the human osteoblast cell line. In addition, we found gallic acid, a polyphenol derived from hydrolyzable tannin which is rich in vegetables and tea, enhanced the alkaline phosphatase activity, an osteoblat-differentiation marker. By using an animal model of impaired osteogenesis developed by feeding weanling rats with a Ca-deficient diet for 4weeks, a plant-derived monoterpene, geraniol, was found to improve the micro-architecture of trabecular bone of the distal part of femur and lower the serum levels of parathyroid hormone and CTX, a bone absorption marker.
2. Clinical study
The calcaneus osteo sono assessment index (OSI) of 297 female students, ranging in age from 18 to 22 years, were found to be decreased with age. Body weight, BMI, age at menarche, exercise, and intakes of energy, lipid and carbohydrate correlated with the OSI at the age of 21 but not with the reduction rate of OSI during 4 years ( Δ OSI), whereas Δ BMI correlated with Δ OSI but not with the OSI at the age of 21. The habit of skipping breakfast negatively correlated with both A OSI and the OSI at the age of 21. Among 179 adult obese women, postmenopausal women showed significantly decreased levels of OSI and increased levels of abdominal visceral fat area (VFA), total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol as compared with premenopausal women. Although the OSI levels in premenopausal women positively correlated with body weight, BMI, abdominal subcutaneous fat area (SFA), and leptin, those in premenopausal women did not. Abdominal SFA of postmenopausal women negatively correlated with total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol after adjustment for age and VFA.
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