Preventive role of Emblica offcinalis and Cissus quadrangularis on bone loss in osteoporosis

Objective: Osteoporosis, a bone degenerating disorder is one of the most common ailments in old age. Though the treatment with hormone replacement therapy for osteoporosis is effective, but they are often associated with serious side effects. Therefore, in search for more effective natural remedy, we evaluated the efficacy of aqueous extract of Emblica officinalis (EO) singly or in combination with the petroleum ether extract of Cissus quadrangularis (CQ) for their anti-osteoporotic potential in ovariectomized rat model. Methods: After the onset of the osteoporosis in bilaterally ovariectomized rats, they were treated with reference doses of Raloxifene, EO, CQ singly and/or in combination for 6 weeks. Results and conclusion: At the end of the experiment, serum ALP, TRAP and hydroxyproline levels were significantly increased in ovariectomized animals, but no significant changes were observed in the calcium levels. Treatment with EO and CQ significantly increased the serum ALP levels, while the serum TRAP and hydroxyproline levels were significantly restored towards normal level. Loss of bone mass and strength due to osteoporosis was significantly increased with EO and CQ treatments. Loss of bone mass and strength due to osteoporosis was significantly reduced with EO and CQ treatments. The results clearly depicts that the individual effects of EO and CQ are comparable with that of Raloxifene. Further when compared to effects of individual plant extracts, the combined effect of EO and CQ were equipotent. Therefore, EO and CQ can effectively reduce the bone loss and increase the bone strength, thus they can be used to treat the bone degenerative disorders.