Osteoporosis in Menopausal Women and The Use of Bmg Flavonoids to Prevent It

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder in which the bones become fragile and can easily get fractured. The lower bone mass increase the risk of fracture. This condition occurs at older age when bones are not able to regenerate their cells because it becomes very thin. There are no pre symptoms of osteoporosis. The fractures can occur in whole skeleton but the bones more prone to fragility fractures are hips, wrist and spinal vertebral bones as the age gets older. According to WHO osteoporosis is defined as the Bone Mineral Density (BMD) OR Bone Mineral Content (BMC) values lower than 2. 5 SD for young healthy women. Loss of bone mass can occurs because of 3 factors:

1. Lower optimal peak bone mass achievement during young age.
2. After achievement of peak bone mass the rapid and higher resorption of bones.
3. Improper and weak bone formation during remodeling cycle.

Major risk factors of osteoporosis

There are multiple risk factors associated with osteoporosis:

1. Lower bone mass involving both skeletal and non-skeletal fractures.
2. Family history and genetic history are also major risk factors leading to low bone mass. 60-70% patients suffering from osteoporosis are inherited this disease from their genetic background.
3. Lack of exercise leading to calcium loss increase the risk of osteoporosis.
4. Diet deficient in calcium and vitamin D increase the chances of developing osteoporosis.
5. Heavy smoking reduces the bone formation metabolism leading to lower bone mass. In men production of testosterone hormone stops due to smoking so their bones also become fragile.
6. Alcohol consumption also lowers the ability to make bone cells and increases the fracture chances.

Major risk factors of osteoporosis related to menopause in women

Osteoporosis can occur in both men and women but women are four times more susceptible to osteoporosis than men because of following reasons:

1. After menopause the bone loss process speeds up when ovaries stop releasing the hormone estrogen.
2. Early menopause before the age of 45 also increase the risk of osteoporosis.
3. The condition of surgical hysterectomy where one or both ovaries are removed form body also leads to lower estrogen production which reduces the bone mass leading to osteoporosis.
4. Heavy exercises during periods seizes the natural phenomenon of menstruation which stops the estrogen hormone release is also a risk factor.
5. Women who smoke frequently develops early menopause which lower the estrogen hormone activity leading to osteoporosis.

Peak bone mass

Peak bone mass can be defined as the amount of skeletal bony tissues gained during the early adulthood. PBM critically depends on the risk of osteoporosis after menopause when bone loss occurs. Lower peak bone mass is the reason of getting fracture developing osteoporosis diseases in post-menopausal women. Menopausal Women at the age of 45-50 taking no calcium supplements are likely to develop osteoporosis.

Remodeling of bones

Bones are constantly remodeled by two types of cells present in bones. Osteoblast and osteoclast. Osteoblast are large cells which helps in bone formation and mineralization. Whereas osteoclast are the cells which dissolve the bones. . Estrogen is the important growth hormone which regulates the normal remodeling phenomenon of bones. After menopause when estrogen secretion stops the deficiency of estrogen cause abnormal functioning of osteoblast leading to excessive remodeling process which cannot overcome the rate of bone loss due to resorption by osteoclast activity eventually the bone mass decrease.

Estrogen like activity of BMG flavonoids

Many plants are used traditionally for the treatment of osteoporosis. But the specialty of BM plant lies in its anti-osteoporotic (bone forming) activity. Some Flavonoids present in BMG are phytoestrogens which are structurally similar to estrogen steroid hormone. These flavonoids mimics the estrogen activity in women and helps in preventing and curing estrogen related diseases mainly osteoporosis. These isoflavones functions by increasing the BMD in postmenopausal women when ingested proper dietary intake. According to several in vivo studies conducted on rats it was found that BM contains 3 flavonoids which are phytoestrogens and promote bone health. These flavonoids are Cajanin, cladrin and medicarpin.

Osteoblastgenesis activity of phytoestrogens in promoting bone health

1. It was investigated that BM crude extract helps in healing of fractured bones because of the isoflavonoid investigated in this plant namely cladrin. Cladrin has two methoxyl groups which promotes the proliferation of osteoblasts and inhibits osteoclast function.
2. Another flavonoid medicarpin effect was evaluated in female mice for the treatment of bone fractures. Medicarpin possess potent activity by improving peak bone mass by stimulating osteoblast activity.
3. The picomolar amounts of cajanin and medicarpin promote the osteoblast growth activity because this concentration behaves like the biological activity of estrogen hormone.
4. According to the results obtained from invivo study conducted on female mice it was concluded that 30 days continuous feeding of 10mg/kg cajanin increase the bending force by 30% required to snap or crack a bone means the strength of bones was increased. Similar finding was observed by cladrin and formononetin supplementation in female rats.

Osteoclastogenesis suppressing activity of phtyoestrogens

Osteoclast proliferation activity which negatively reduces the bone cells by dissolving them are greatly reduced by the dosage of medicarpin at picomolar concentration. Thus medicarpin functions more efficiently than estrogen because of its dual activity of both estrogenic and inflammatory pathways promoting the bone health.

Bone loss prevention by BMG

The ethonolic extract of BM bark possess potent effect in reducing bone loss in rats from which ovaries were removed surgically. Whereas in healthy female rats (before menopause) the acetone extract of BM increases the bone mineral density which does not loss even after getting menopause when supplementations were stopped, this helps in preventing osteoporosis risk in rats.