[Milk, Daily products and Bone health.Effects of School Lunch Programs on Bone Mass.]

In Japan, school lunches are provided to elementary and secondary student, not only for ensuring the intake of well-balanced and nutritious meal, but also hoping to improve their dietary habits. In this article, the authors review the effects of a school lunch program on the bone mass and dietary habits. The school lunch program was divided into 3 groups:a group provided with a complete school lunch, a group provided with only milk supplements, and a group provided with no supplement. The calcaneal bone mass was significantly higher in both primary and the junior high-school students given complete lunches compared with that in the other groups. Moreover, the intake of milk and milk products besides school lunches was more frequent in the groups that received complete lunches. The results suggest that the school lunch program, particularly that providing complete lunches, contributed to increasing the bone mass and improving the dietary habits.

The Preventive Effect of Calcium Supplementation on Weak Bones Caused by the Interaction of Exercise and Food Restriction in Young Female Rats During the Period from Acquiring Bone Mass to Maintaining Bone Mass.

Increasing calcium (Ca) intake is important for female athletes with a risk of weak bone caused by inadequate food intake. The aim of the present study was to examine the preventive effect of Ca supplementation on low bone strength in young female athletes with inadequate food intake, using the rats as an experimental model. Seven-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: the sedentary and ad libitum feeding group (SED), voluntary running exercise and ad libitum feeding group (EX), voluntary running exercise and 30% food restriction group (EX-FR), and a voluntary running exercise, 30% food-restricted and high-Ca diet group (EX-FR+Ca). To Ca supplementation, we used 1.2% Ca diet as "high-Ca diet" that contains two-fold Ca of normal Ca diet. The experiment lasted for 12 weeks. As a result, the energy availability, internal organ weight, bone strength, bone mineral density, and Ca absorption in the EX-FR group were significantly lower than those in the EX group. The bone strength and Ca absorption in the EX-FR+Ca group were significantly higher than those in the EX-FR group. However, the bone strength in the EX-FR+Ca group did not reach that in the EX group. These results suggested that Ca supplementation had a positive effect on bone strength, but the effect was not sufficient to prevent lower bone strength caused by food restriction in young female athletes.

The Impact of Different Amounts of Calcium Intake on Bone Mass and Arterial Calcification in Ovariectomized Rats.

Reduced estrogen secretion and low calcium (Ca) intake are risk factors for bone loss and arterial calcification in female rodents. To evaluate the effects of Ca intake at different amounts on bone mass changes and arterial calcification, 8-wk-old female Wistar rats were randomly placed in ovariectomized (OVX) control and OVX with vitamin D3 plus nicotine (VDN) treatment groups. The OVX with VDN rats were then divided into six groups to receive different amounts of Ca in their diets: 0.01%, 0.1%, 0.3%, 0.6%, 1.2%, or 2.4% Ca. After 8 wk of administration, low Ca intake groups with 0.01% and 0.1% Ca diets had significantly reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mechanical properties as compared with those of the other groups, whereas high Ca intake groups with 1.2% and 2.4% Ca diets showed no differences as compared with the 0.6% Ca intake group. For both the 0.01% and 2.4% Ca intake groups, Ca levels in their thoracic arteries were significantly higher as compared with those of the 0.6% Ca diet group, and that was highly correlated with serum PTH levels. An increase in relative BMP-2 mRNA expression in the arterial tissues of the 0.01% and 2.4% Ca diet groups was also observed. These results suggested that extremely low Ca intake during periods of estrogen deficiency may be a possible risk for the complications of reduced BMD and arterial calcification and that extremely high Ca intake may promote arterial calcification with no changes in BMD.

The protective effect of lycopene intake on bone loss in ovariectomized rats.

Antioxidant lycopene supplementation has been shown to decrease oxidative stress and have beneficial effects on bone health. However, it remains unclear whether lycopene exerts its beneficial effect on bone metabolism through mitigation of oxidative stress in vivo. The aim of this study was to investigate whether lycopene intake protects against bone loss by reducing oxidative stress in ovariectomized rats. Female Sprague-Dawley 6-week-old rats were ovariectomized and randomly divided into four groups according to the lycopene content of their diet: 0, 50, 100, and 200 ppm. The tibial bone mineral density (BMD) in the 50, 100, and 200 ppm groups was significantly higher than that in the 0 ppm group. Serum and urinary bone resorption marker levels were significantly lower in the 50, 100, and 200 ppm groups than in the 0 ppm group. There was no significant difference in systemic oxidative stress markers among all groups. However, systemic oxidative stress levels were inversely correlated with the tibial BMD. Our findings suggest that lycopene intake significantly inhibits bone loss by suppressing bone resorption in ovariectomized rats. Further studies are necessary to clarify the effect of lycopene on oxidative stress in local tissues such as bone tissue.

Lycopene intake facilitates the increase of bone mineral density in growing female rats.

Intake of the antioxidant lycopene has been reported to decrease oxidative stress and have beneficial effects on bone health. However, few in vivo studies have addressed these beneficial effects in growing female rodents or young women. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of lycopene intake on bone metabolism through circulating oxidative stress in growing female rats. Six-week-old Sprague-Dawley female rats were randomly divided into 3 groups according to the lycopene content in their diet: 0, 50, and 100 ppm. The bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine and the tibial proximal metaphysis increased with lycopene content in a dose-dependent manner; the BMD in 100 ppm group was significantly higher than in the 0 ppm group. The urine deoxypyridinoline concentrations were significantly lower in the 50 and 100 ppm groups than in the 0 ppm group, and the serum bone-type alkaline phosphatase activity was significantly higher in 100 ppm group than in the 0 ppm group. No difference in systemic oxidative stress level was observed; however, the oxidative stress level inversely correlated with the tibial BMD. Our findings suggested that lycopene intake facilitates bone formation and inhibits bone resorption, leading to an increase of BMD in growing female rats.

DHEA administration activates local bioactive androgen metabolism in cancellous site of tibia of ovariectomized rats.

It is not known whether local androgen metabolism is involved in the mechanisms underlying the dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) administration-induced improvement of bone mineral density (BMD) in an estrogen-deficiency state. The aim of the present study was to clarify whether DHEA administration would improve local androgen metabolism and BMD in cancellous site of tibia of ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Twenty-two female rats, 6 weeks old, were randomized into three groups: sham-operated rats, OVX control rats, and OVX rats that received DHEA treatment. DHEA was administered intraperitoneally at 20 mg/kg body weight for 8 weeks. The concentrations of free testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in cancellous site of tibia did not change as a result of ovariectomy, while the DHT concentration increased following DHEA administration. We revealed that DHEA administration improved the reduction of 17ß- and 3ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases and clearly reversed the reduction of 5α-reductase types 1 and 2 and androgen receptor in the cancellous site of tibia of OVX rats. DHEA administration suppressed estrogen deficiency relative to the decrease in the cancellous BMD, which was positively associated with local DHT concentration. These findings indicate that DHEA administration enhances local bioactive androgen metabolism in the cancellous tibia of young OVX rats, suggesting that local DHT may play a part in the DHEA administration-induced improvement of cancellous BMD.

[Selection of the supplement in calcium intake].

Adequate calcium intake is one of the most important issues in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, which is considered a lifestyle-related disease. However, calcium is a nutrient that is rather difficult to take in appropriate amounts in traditional Japanese eating habits. Therefore, one of the effective means of preventing and treating osteoporosis is to supplement calcium intake, when an insufficient quantity is obtained in the three, daily meals. In addition to increasing the tolerable upper intake levels (UL) of calcium to 2,500 mg/day, and an instruction program for learning how to evaluate the nutritional state, and the right method of utilizing supplements is needed. Furthermore, learning how to balance other nutrients, such as mineral balance, should also be included.

Phosphate depletion enhances bone morphogenetic protein-4 gene expression in a cultured mouse marrow stromal cell line ST2.

Alkaline phosphatases (ALPs) are glycosylated, membrane-bound enzymes that hydrolyze various monophosphate esters at an optimum high pH and are present in nearly all living organisms. In Escherichia coli, extracellular phosphate (Pi) limitation induces the ALP gene, indicating a role of extracellular Pi in ALP gene regulation. However, little is known about similar mechanisms in mammalian cells. Previously, we reported that Pi starvation increased the tissue-nonspecific ALP (TNSALP) activity and regulated its expression in the mouse stromal cell line ST2, derived from mouse bone marrow. In the present study, we further examined the effects of Pi starvation on the mechanism of TNSALP induction. The specific activity of TNSALP increased markedly after treatment by Pi starvation for 5 days and RT-PCR analysis revealed that the mRNA of the bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4) gene was highly stimulated. The combination of Pi depletion and mouse BMP-4 receptor IA/Fc chimera down-regulated the TNSALP activity. These results indicated that Pi depletion stimulates the TNSALP activity for the Pi supplementation, and that this system may involve the signaling pathway of the BMP-4 gene at the transcription level.

Menatetrenone prevents osteoblast dysfunction in unilateral sciatic neurectomized rats.

Menatetrenone (MK-4) inhibits bone resorption and enhances osteoblast-induced mineralization. In this study, we examined whether MK-4 administration had beneficial effects on osteoblast dysfunction and trabecular microstructure as well as on bone volume loss in a rat model of osteopenia. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were neurectomized and administered MK-4 as a daily supplement. On Day 21 after neurectomy, significant bone loss was observed in the positive control rats. MK-4 prevented the decrease in bone mineral density of the distal metaphysis of the femur. The osteoclast surface per bone surface (Oc.S/BS) and the number of osteoclasts per bone perimeter (N.Oc/B.Pm) were reduced and the mineral apposition rate (MAR) decreased in the immobilized rats on Day 42, suggesting suppression of bone turnover. In contrast, administration with a low dose of menatetrenone led to an increase of MAR and bone formation rate (BFR), while Oc.S/BS and N.Oc/B.Pm remained at normal levels. These data suggested that MK-4 reduced the loss of trabecular bone, prevented osteoblast dysfunction to a certain extent, and contributed to preservation of the trabecular microstructure in this rat model of osteopenia induced by sciatic neurectomy.