Background: Osteoporosis is a major health problem. Teriparatide is a recombinant parathyroid hormone used as anti-osteoporotic therapy. Lepidium sativum (LS) is widely used as a traditional herbal therapy for hypertension, diabetes and renal disorders. The LS seeds are widely known as a good traditional alternative medication for fracture healing.
Objectives: Current research focused on evaluation of the Lepidium sativum versus teriparatide effect on glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis
Materials and Methods: 60 adult male guinea pigs were randomly divided into six equal groups: control groupI (distilled water); LS treated group (300 mg/kg suspended in distilled water orally by gastric tube), teriparatide treated group (4 mcg/kg subcutaneously twice weekly), glucocorticoid treated group (3.5 mg/kg subcutaneously), teriparatide and glucocorticoids treated group and glucocorticoids and lepidium sativum treated group as pervious groups. At the end of the study, animals were anaesthetized and sacrificed. Femur bones of each animal were excised for histological and immunohistochemical studies (caspase-3 and osteoponotin).
Results: Glucocorticoids induced bone resorption manifested as resorption cavities, thickened periosteum associated with decreased and irregular cortical and trabecular bone thickness. Marked reduced irregular collagen fibers were detected by trichrome staining.
Immunohistochemically, this group showed positive immunoreactivity for caspase-3 in osteocytes and decrease in osteopontin deposits in bone matrix. Moreover, there was significant increase in number of osteoclasts associated with decrease in number of osteoblasts. Significant decrease in serum calcium level and increase in serum alkaline phosphatase were detected.
Administration of either teriparatide or Lipidium sativum with glucocorticoids improved biochemical, histological and morphometric bone changes. They reduced osteocytes apoptosis and osteoclasts increase. Lipidium sativum was more effective improving changes induced by glucocorticoids.
Conclusions: Glucocorticoids induced bone resorption. Despite the high cost of teriparatide, it did not achieve the desired protective effect. LS is cheap, available and its protective effect is promising with no adverse effects