Beneficial effect of fish oil on bone mineral density and biomarkers of bone metabolism in rats

Gun-Ae Yoon

doi:10.4163/kjn.2012.45.2.121

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Yoon: Beneficial effect of fish oil on bone mineral density and biomarkers of bone metabolism in rats

Research Article

Korean Journal of Nutrition

Korean Journal of Nutrition 2012; 45(2): 121-126.

Published online: 27 April 2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4163/kjn.2012.45.2.121

Beneficial effect of fish oil on bone mineral density and biomarkers of bone metabolism in rats

Gun-Ae Yoon

Department of Food and Nutrition, Dong-Eui University, Busan 614-714, Korea.

To whom correspondence should be addressed. (gayoon@deu.ac.kr)

Received 29 December 2011 Revised 25 January 2012 Accepted 25 February 2012

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This study evaluated the effect of fish oil rich in n-3 fatty acids on bone characteristics in Sprague-Dawley rats. Weanling male rats were randomized to receive either a diet containing high fish oil (FO), fish oil blended with corn oil (FICO), or soy oil rich in n-6 fatty acids (SO) for 4 weeks. All diets provided 70 g/kg fat based on the AIN-93G diet. Growth and biomarkers of bone metabolism were analyzed, and femur bone characteristics were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. After the dietary treatment, no significant differences among the diet groups were observed for serum concentrations of Ca, parathyroid hormone, calcitonin, or osteocalcin. Alkaline phosphatase activity was significantly greater in FO-fed rats compared to that in the FICO and SO groups, whereas no difference in deoxypyridinoline values was observed, supporting the positive effect of a FO diet on bone formation. These results were accompanied by a significant increase in femur bone mineral density (BMD) in FO-fed rats. These findings suggest that providing fish oil rich in n-3 fatty acids correlates with higher alkaline phosphatase activity and BMD values, favoring bone formation in growing rats.

Keywords: fish oil, n-3 fatty acids, bone mineral density, bone metabolic biomarkers, bone formation

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1

Bone mineral density of femur. Bars having different letter are significantly different by ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test at α = 0.05. FO: high fish oil diet, FICO: fish oil blended with corn oil, SO: soy oil diet.

Table 1

Composition of experimental diet

1) AIN-93 mineral mxture 2) AIN-93 vitamin mixture

FO: high fish oil diet, FICO: fish oil blended with corn oil, SO: soy oil diet

Table 2

Growth and feed intake of rats

Values are Mean ± SD

Values within row having same superscript are not significantly different by ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test at α = 0.05 NS: not significant, FER: feed efficiency ratio, FO: high fish oil diet, FICO: fish oil blended with corn oil, SO: soy oil diet

Table 3

Bone metabolic biomarkers in serum and urine

Values are Mean ± SD

Values within row having same superscript are not significantly different by ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test at α = 0.05 NS: not significant, PTH: parathyroid hormone, ALP: alkaline phosphatase, FO: high fish oil diet, FICO: fish oil blended with corn oil, SO: soy oil diet

Table 4

Wet and dry weight of femur

Values are Mean ± SD

Values within row having same superscript are not significantly different by ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test at α = 0.05 NS: not significant, FO: high fish oil diet, FICO: fish oil blended with corn oil, SO: soy oil diet

Table 5

Ash and Ca content of femur

Values are Mean ± SD

Notes

This work was supported by Dong-Eui University Grant (2010 AA132).

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