Positive Effects of Qing'e Pill(青娥丸)on Trabecular Microarchitecture and its Mechanical Properties in Osteopenic Ovariectomised Mice

Objective: To investigate the impact of Qing'e Pill(青娥丸,QEP) on the cancellous bone microstructure and its effect on the level of β-catenin in a mouse model of postmenopausal osteoporosis.Methods: Ninety-six 8-week-old speci?c pathogen free C57 BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 4 groups(24/group): sham,ovariectomised osteoporosis model,oestradiol-treated,and QEP-treated groups.Three months after surgery,the third lumbar vertebra and left femur of the animals were dissected and scanned using micro-computed tomography(micro-CT) to acquire three-dimensional(3 D) parameters of their cancellous bone microstructure.The impact of ovariectomy,the effect of oestradiol and QEP intervention on cancellous bone microstructure,and the expression of β-catenin were evaluated.Results: The oestradioland the QEP-treated groups exhibited a signi?cant increase in the bone volume fraction,trabecular number,trabecular thickness,bone surface to bone volume ratio(BS/BV),and β-catenin expression compared with those of the model group(P<0.05).In contrast,the structure model index,trabecular separation,and BS/BV were signi?cantly decreased compared with those of the ovariectomised osteoporosis model group(P<0.05).No differences were observed in the above parameters between animals of the QEP-and oestradiol-treated groups.Conclusions: The increased β-catenin expression may be the mechanism underlying QEP's improvement of the cancellous bone microstructure in ovariectomised mice.Our ?ndings provide a scienti?c rationale for using QEP as a dietary supplement to prevent bone loss in postmenopausal women.