Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Department

Human Nutrition and Foods

Committee Chair

Janet C. L. Tou.

Abstract

Resveratrol has recently become a popular dietary supplement because of its potential for reducing the effects of aging and various age-related diseases. However, few studies have investigated the role of resveratrol in improving bone loss associated with aging. It has been widely reported that mechanical unloading increases bone loss. The elderly experience a prevalence of reduced mechanical loading due to declining activity levels and increased incidence of bed rest. In rats, hind-limb suspension (HLS) simulates mechanical unloading of bone. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the effects of aging and resveratrol supplementation on bone health in HLS and ambulatory (AMB) rats.;Mature (age 6 months) and old (32 months) Fischer Brown Norway male rats were randomly assigned (n=7/group) to HLS or kept ambulatory (AMB) for 14 days and received either 1 ml of trans-resveratrol at a dose of 12.5 mg·kg bw-1·d-1 or deionized water administered by oral gavage. After 14 days, both femurs and tibiae were collected. Bone mineralization was measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Bone calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) were determined by inductively coupled plasma spectrophotometry. Bone architecture was determined using micro-computed tomography (muCT). Oxidation was determined by measuring plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Inflammation was determined by measuring C-reactive protein (CRP) by ELIZA.;Results showed that aging increased plasma CRP and reduced trabecular bone (P<0.001). In old AMB rats, resveratrol supplementation increased trabecular thickness (P=0.018), but decreased tibia bone mineral area (P=0.031) and bone mineral content ( P=0.034). In old HLS rats, resveratrol supplementation increased trabecular bone (P<0.001) and reduced oxidation indicated by decreased plasma TBARS (P<0.05) compared to rats not provided resveratrol. In mature HLS rats resveratrol supplementation reduced bone Ca (P=0.018) and P (P=0.024) content. TBARS were increased compared to rats provided no resveratrol. In conclusion resveratrol supplementation attenuated trabecular loss but was not effective at attenuating bone mineral loss associated with aging. In mature HLS rats resveratrol supplementation increased plasma oxidation and reduced bone Ca and P content. Therefore, resveratrol is not recommended as a treatment for age-related bone loss.

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