| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Salvia miltiorrhiza </it>(SM) has long been used as a traditional oriental medicine for cardiovascular disease. Accumulating evidence also indicates that SM has anti-osteoporotic effects. This study was conducted to examine the SM-induced anti-osteoporotic effect and its possible mechanisms with various doses of SM.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We studied Sprague-Dawley female rats aged 12 weeks, divided into six groups: sham-operated control (SHAM), OVX rats supplemented with SM (1, 3, 10 and 30 mg/kg) orally for 8 weeks. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected and biochemistry analysis was performed. Specimens from both tibia and liver were processed for light microscopic examination. DEXA and μ-CT analyses of the tibia were also performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SM treatment significantly ameliorated the decrease in BMD and trabecular bone mass according to DEXA and trabecular bone architecture analysis of trabecular bone structural parameters by μ-CT scanning. In serum biochemical analysis, SM decreased the released TRAP-5b, an osteoclast activation marker and oxidative stress parameters including MDA and NO induced by OVX.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The preventive effect of SM was presumably due to its anti-oxidative stress partly via modulation of osteoclast maturation and number. In current study, SM appears to be a promising osteoporosis therapeutic natural product.</p>
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