Chrysin attenuates osteoporosis-induced hyperlipidemia and oxidative damage in ovariectomized rats

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease and postmenopausal osteoporosis are age-related diseases with high morbidity and mortality across the globe, especially in the elderly women. This study investigates the potential effects of chrysin (CHR) in osteoporosis-induced hyperlipidemia and oxidative liver damage in ovariectomized rats. Twenty-five female Wistar rats were used; 20 rats were ovariectomized (OVX) while 5 rats were sham-operated. The experimental rats were treated daily for a period of six weeks. CHR treatment alleviated body weight gain (p<0.01) in OVX rats. In addition, CHR significantly (p<0.05) reduced total cholesterol, triacylglycerol and low-density lipoprotein with a simultaneous increase in high-density lipoprotein levels in OVX rats in a dose-dependent manner in comparison to untreated OVX rats. Moreover, treatment of OVX rats with CHR significantly (p<0.05) reduced malondialdehyde level and improved reduced glutathione level, superoxide-dismutase and catalase activities. Furthermore, treatment of OVX rats with CHR significantly (p<0.01) suppressed alanine-aminotransferase and aspartate-aminotransferase activities in liver tissue compared to the untreated OVX rats. Conversely, treatment of OVX rats with CHR significantly (p<0.05) attenuated reduction in femur bone calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc contents altered by ovariectomy compared with untreated OVX rats. This study demonstrated that CHR reduced symptoms of osteoporosis-induced hyperlipidemia and oxidative damage in OVX rats. Our data suggest that CHR, a natural antioxidant, may potentially protect against postmenopausal osteoporosis linked to cardiovascular disease.