Rutin prevents the ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats

OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed to explore the anti-osteoporotic effect of rutin (quercetin-3-O-rutinose) on ovariectomized female rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An ovariectomized (OVX) rat model of osteoporosis was employed to evaluate the anti-osteoporotic potency of rutin. One week after surgery, the rats were administered intragastrically with rutin or saline once daily respectively for 3 months. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The bone microstructure was analyzed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining of the left tibia histomorphology. Estradiol, IL-6, and TNF-alpha were measured by ELISA kits. RESULTS: The results showed that rutin significantly improved the bone mineral density (BMD) and increased the level of inflammatory factor of IL-6, TNF-alpha, and INF-gamma in OVX rats. Rutin turned bone trabecula to be thickened and dense, and kept regular array. Moreover, rutin significantly improved the average thickness of trabecular bone and the average bone volume fraction. CONCLUSIONS: Rutin possessed with significant anti-osteoporotic activity, which can be considered as an idealistic anti-osteoporotic candidate for human osteoporosis diseases.