• Exploring the Therapeutic Effects of Curcumin for Ovariectomy-induced Osteoporosis in Adult Wistar Rats
  • SOMAYE FALLAHNEZHAD,1,*
    1. 1Nervous System Stem Cell Research Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran 2Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran


  • Introduction: Osteoporosis (OP) is a chronic metabolic disease. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of nanocurcumin on ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in adult Wistar rats.
  • Methods: 40 female rats were randomly divided into 5 groups including the control group (rats without ovariectomy and gavage with PBS for two months), SHAM group (rats with ovariectomy and gavage with PBS for two months) and Intervention groups (rats with ovariectomy and gavage with nanocurcumin 50, 100 or 150 mg/kg for two months). Two months after surgery, western blot analyses were performed to evaluate OPG, OCN, and Runx2 proteins in tibia bone.
  • Results: Regeneration did not occur in the control and SHAM groups, but 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg nanocurcumin groups showed +1, +2, and +3 regeneration, respectively. The expression of osteocalcin in the 100 and 150 mg/kg nanocurcumin groups was significantly higher than the control and sham groups (p<0.001) and it was also significantly higher than the 50 mg/kg nanocurcumin group (p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively). In the 100 and 150 mg/kg nanocurcumin groups, the expression level of RUNX2 was significantly higher than the control and sham groups (p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively) and also significantly higher than the 50 mg/kg nanocurcumin group p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively). In the 100 and 150 mg/kg nanocurcumin groups, the expression of osteoprotegerin was significantly higher than the control and sham groups (p<0.01) and it was also significantly higher than the 50 mg/kg nanocurcumin group (p<0.01).
  • Conclusion: Nanocurcumin was able to reduce the activity of osteoclasts and increase the degree of regeneration. The expression levels of osteocalcin, Runx2 and osteoprotegerin increased significantly and dose-dependently under the effect of nanocurcumin. These findings indicate that it may be possible to use nanocurcumin as a drug for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in the future.
  • Keywords: Osteoporosis, Nanocurcumin, Ovariectomy