Black Tea May Be a Prospective Adjunct for Calcium Supplementation to Prevent Early Menopausal Bone Loss in a Rat Model of Osteoporosis

Abstract EN

The present study was undertaken to find out the ability of black tea extract (BTE) as a suitable alternative of adjunct for calcium supplementation in treating an ovariectomized rat model of early osteoporosis.

Female Wistar rats weighing 140–150 g were divided into four groups consisting of six animals in each group: (A) sham-operated control; (B) bilaterally ovariectomized; (C) bilaterally ovariectomized + BTE; (D) bilaterally ovariectomized + 17β-estradiol.

Results suggest that BTE could promote intestinal absorption of calcium significantly (P<0.01 for duodenum and ileum; and P<0.05 for jejunum).

This was found associated with enhanced activities of two relevant intestinal mucosal enzymes alkaline phosphatase (P<0.01 for duodenum, jejunum, and ileum) and Ca2+ activated ATPase (P<0.01 for duodenum, jejunum, and ileum).

Such BTE-mediated promotion of calcium absorption was coupled with increase in serum estrogen titer (P<0.01) and recovery of all urinary, bone, and serum osteoporotic marker parameters, including bone histological features.

Serum parathyroid hormone level, however, was not altered in these animals (P>0.05).

A comparative study with 17β-estradiol, a well-known adjunct for calcium supplementation, indicated that efficacy of BTE in maintaining skeletal health is close to that of 17β-estradiol.

This study suggests that simultaneous use of BTE is promising as a prospective candidate for adjunctive therapies for calcium supplementation in the early stage of menopausal bone changes.