Blueberry consumption can prevent bone loss and positively impact bone metabolism in ovariectomized rats.
Experimental Study Blueberry Osteoporosis Postmenopausal
The research involved thirty 6-month-old female Sprague-Dawley rats. Some rats were ovariectomized to simulate post-menopausal conditions and then divided into three groups: Sham-operated, control (ovariectomized but no intervention), and a group that was ovariectomized and given a 5% blueberry diet. After being on this diet for 100 days, the effects of the blueberries on bone health were evaluated through the assessment of Bone Mineral Density (BMD) and content in the whole body, right tibia, right femur, and fourth lumbar vertebra through dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
In terms of the results, the ovariectomy caused a loss of BMD in the whole body, tibia, femora, and lumbar region, whereas the blueberry diet prevented this loss in the whole body. It also somewhat reduced the loss in the tibia and femur. The bone-protective effects of the blueberries were attributed to them suppressing the ovariectomy-induced increase in bone turnover. This was shown by reduced levels of various cellular components linked to bone metabolism in the femoral bone and serum of rats on the blueberry diet, compared to the ovariectomized control group.
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