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Health News Archive 234 - Bone Loss
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Omega-3s Inhibit Bone Loss

Intake of omega-3 fatty polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) slows loss of bone mineral density (BMD) associated with aging, according to a clinical trial published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

Researchers from Texas Tech University, Purdue University and Winthrop-University Hospital used seven rats at the beginning of the clinical trial to determine baseline BMD.  They administered the following fat blends to the remaining rats (three groups of n=7) for 20 weeks:

• 167 g safflower oil, rich in omega-6 (n-6) fatty acids, + 33 g fish oil from Atlantic menhaden (control n-6 + n-3 diet);
• 200 g safflower oil (n-6 diet, almost devoid of n-3 PUFAs); and
• 190 g fish oil + 10 g corn oil (n-3 diet, rich in n-3 PUFAs).

At the end of the treatment period, all test groups had a lower bone mineral density than at baseline. However, rats fed the Omega-3 (n-3) diet had less bone loss (as measured by BMD) compared with animals fed the n-6 and control n-6 + n-3 diets. In addition, rats fed the n-3 diet had higher values for serum insulin-like growth factor-I, parathyroid hormone, 1,25-(OH)2 vitamin D3 and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase activity than the control n-6 + n-3 diet group, but lower bone nitrogen oxide (NO) production and urinary calcium than the n-6 diet group, which had higher bone prostaglandin E2 production and serum pyridinoline.

The researchers concluded these findings indicate a protective action of n-3 PUFAs on age-induced bone loss in gonad-intact middle-aged male rats through a modulation of local factors and systemic calcitrophic hormones.

Source: British Journal of Nutrition 95, 3:462-68, 2006