Food bioactives and bone metabolism

随着身体产生雌激素和睾丸素的能力随着年龄的增长而受损，骨组织开始退化。天然存在于亚麻籽和鱼油等食物中的食物生物活性物质，可能有助于在衰老过程中保持正常的骨细胞功能。对骨骼细胞新陈代谢特别感兴趣的食物生物活性物质包括来自亚麻籽的木脂素，以及来自亚麻籽和鱼油的omega-3脂肪酸。亚麻籽木脂素可以具有类似于我们身体自然产生的雌激素的生物活性。研究表明，含有较多omega-3脂肪酸的饮食可以改善骨骼状况的标志物。拟议研究计划的目标是确定当这些食品生物活性物质与目前的药物一起提供时，是否提供额外的好处，当骨骼细胞在衰老过程中变得不平衡时，这些药物有助于稳定骨细胞的活动。感兴趣的药理药物包括低剂量雌激素(剂量远低于传统雌激素疗法，后者会增加患乳腺癌和心脏病的风险)，以及选择性雌激素或雄激素受体调节剂，它们对骨细胞调节有积极作用，而在非骨组织中没有不良影响。研究将使用成熟的大鼠模型进行，该模型模拟男性和女性在衰老过程中骨骼代谢的生理变化。将使用这些大鼠模型提供与药理制剂相结合的食品生物活性物质。这一研究计划的发现可能会导致开发出结合食品生物活性物质和现有药理制剂的策略，以更有效地使衰老过程中的骨细胞代谢正常化。并将确定骨细胞代谢的具体作用机制。

Bone tissue begins to deteriorate as the body's ability to produce estrogen and testosterone is compromised with aging. Food bioactives, naturally present in foods such as flaxseed and fish oil, may help preserve normal bone cell function during aging. Food bioactives of particular interest to bone cell metabolism include lignans from flaxseed, and omega-3 fatty acids from flaxseed and fish oil. Flaxseed lignans can have biological activity similar to estrogen that our bodies naturally produce. Diets that contain higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to improve markers of bone status. The goal of the proposed research program is to determine if these food bioactives provide added benefits when provided with current pharmacological agents that help stabilize bone cell activity when it becomes unbalanced during aging. Pharmacological agents of interest include low dose estrogen (at a much lower dose than traditional estrogen therapy that is associated with elevated risk of developing breast cancer and heart disease), and selective estrogen or androgen receptor modulators that have positive effects on bone cell regulation without adverse effects in non-bone tissues. Studies will be conducted using well-established rat models that simulate the physiological changes in bone metabolism that occur in men and women during aging. Food bioactives in combination with pharmacological agents will be provided using these rat models. Findings from this research program may lead to the development of strategies that combine food bioactives and current pharmacological agents to more effectively normalize bone cell metabolism during aging. And specific mechanisms of action in bone cell metabolism will be determined.