The purpose of this study was to examine the antiosteoporosis effects of
garlic oil in an ovariectomized (Ovx) rat model of
osteoporosis and to compare its efficacy with
lovastatin (a synthetic hypocholesterolemic
drug) and 17beta-estradiol (a potent antiosteoporotic agent). Animals were divided into five groups:
sham-operated control, ovariectomized, ovariectomized supplemented with
lovastatin, ovariectomized supplemented with
garlic oil and ovariectomized supplemented with 17beta-estradiol. In our study, the development of a high rate of bone turnover and
osteoporosis in the ovariectomized animals were confirmed by significant alterations of serum
alkaline phosphatase activity, serum
tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity, urinary excretion of
calcium, phosphate,
hydroxyproline and urinary
calcium to
creatinine ratio, when compared with the
sham-operated control group. Supplementation of these animals with either
garlic oil or
lovastatin or 17beta-estradiol, in addition to their hypocholesterolemic effect, could counterbalance all these changes. The results revealed that all three compounds significantly protected the hypogonadal bone loss as reflected by higher bone densities and higher bone mineral contents than the ovariectomized group of animals. The results emphasize that, like 17beta-estradiol, the hypocholesterolemic compounds
garlic oil and
lovastatin are also effective in suppressing bone loss owing to
estrogen deficiency and their efficacy in the order of lower to higher is garlic <
lovastatin < 17beta-estradiol.