Monthly Archives: April 2013

Tocotrienols More Effective Than Calcium?

Abstract

Palm tocotrienol supplementation enhanced bone formation in oestrogen-deficient rats

Postmenopausal osteoporosis is the commonest cause of osteoporosis. It is associated with increased free radical activity induced by the oestrogen-deficient state. Therefore, supplementation with palm-oil-derived tocotrienols, a potent antioxidant, should be able to prevent this bone loss. Our earlier studies have shown that tocotrienol was able to prevent and even reverse osteoporosis due to various factors, including oestrogen deficiency. In this study we compared the effects of supplementation with palm tocotrienol mixture or calcium on bone biomarkers and bone formation rate in ovariectomised (oestrogen-deficient) female rats. Our results showed that palm tocotrienols significantly increased bone formation in oestrogen-deficient rats, seen by increased double-labeled surface (dLS/Bs), reduced single-labeled surface (sLS/BS), increased mineralizing surface (MS/BS), increased mineral apposition rate (MAR), and an overall increase in bone formation rate (BFR/BS). These effects were not seen in the group supplemented with calcium. However, no significant changes were seen in the serum levels of the bone biomarkers, osteocalcin, and cross-linked C-telopeptide of type I collagen, CTX. In conclusion, palm tocotrienol is more effective than calcium in preventing oestrogen-deficient bone loss. Further studies are needed to determine the potential of tocotrienol as an antiosteoporotic agent.

Soelaiman IN, Ming W, Abu Bakar R, Hashnan NA…
Int J Endocrinol. 2012
PMID: 23150728

Even though this is an animal study, it is impressive that tocotrienols were more effective than calcium.

Articles Per Year

I’m always amazed by how much more information there is about a disorder than doctors will talk about or know about. There are thousands of interesting studies published about osteoporosis every year. There are more studies almost every year. In 2012, there were 3,354 articles listed on PubMed that included the term osteoporosis. There are 59,283 articles in total as of today.

Very few of these studies make the news. Most of the studies that make the news are  reported because they were surprising in some way. Many treatments are just not on the radar. It’s only when you start searching do you see how much evidence there is for different treatments. Many of the studies are on vitamins, supplements, or dietary modifications that are easy to implement.

 

Hello

Hello and welcome to Osteoporosis-Studies. As my About page says, my name is Terry. I’m here to collect studies on treatments for osteoporosis. I’m most interested in treatments that are not only safe and effective, but preferably good for overall health.