Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been practiced in the treatment of
bone diseases and
alcoholism. Chronic excessive alcohol use results in alcohol-induced
bone diseases, including
osteopenia and
osteoporosis, which increases fracture risk, deficient bone repair, and
osteonecrosis. This preclinical study investigated the
therapeutic effects of TCM herbal extracts in animal models of chronic excessive alcohol consumption-induced
osteopenia. TCM herbal extracts (Jing extracts) were prepared from nine Chinese
herbal medicines, a combinative herbal formula for antifatigue and immune regulation, including Astragalus, Cistanche deserticola, Dioscorea polystachya, Lycium barbarum, Epimedium, Cinnamomum cassia, Syzygium aromaticum, Angelica sinensis, and Curculigo orchioides. In this study, Balb/c male mice were orally administrated alcohol (3.2 g/kg/day) with/without TCM herbal extracts (0.125 g/kg, 0.25 g/kg, or 0.5 g/kg) by gavage. Our results showed that after 50 days of
oral administration, TCM herbal extracts prevented alcohol-induced
osteopenia demonstrated by μ-CT bone morphological analysis in young adults and middle-aged/old Balb/c male mice. Biochemical analysis demonstrated that chronic alcohol consumption inhibits bone formation and has a neutral impact on
bone resorption, suggesting that TCM herbal extracts (Jing extracts) mitigate the alcohol-induced abnormal bone metabolism in middle-aged/old male mice.
Protocatechuic acid, a natural
phenolic acid in Jing extracts, mitigates in vivo alcohol-induced decline of
alkaline phosphatase (ALP) gene expression in the bone marrow of Balb/c male mice and in vitro ALP activity in pre-osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells. Our study suggests that TCM herbal extracts prevent chronic excessive alcohol consumption-induced
osteopenia in male mice, implying that traditional medicinal plants have the therapeutic potential of preventing alcohol-induced
bone diseases.