Abstract
Traditional therapies for osteoporosis have undesirable side effects so that new therapeutic agents have been improved to use natural products and herbal extracts for therapeutic purposes. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate the combined effects of Panax ginseng and Lepidum sativum (LS) seeds on biochemical changes and histological alterations of induced osteoporosis in female rats. Fifty adult female albino rats (200-320 g) were divided into five groups (n=10 rats/group). Group I, control group included nonovariectomized untreated rats. Group II, ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Group III, OVX rats administrated with KRG extract (100 mg\kg bw\day). Group IV, OVX rats administrated with LS seeds extract (20 mg\kg bw\day). Group V, OVX rats administrated with both extracts of KRG and LS seeds. In the present study, the ameliorative effects of Ginseng and LS seeds on bone remodeling against induced osteoporosis by ovariectomy were demonstrated by increasing serum levels of calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), vitamin D as well as decreasing serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP). The histological study of cortical and trabecular femur bone revealed that the bone resorption and trabecular bone loss were increased in the OVX group. The administration of Ginseng, LS and their combination showed a marked improvement in trabecular bone and a significant reduction in bone loss. Ginseng and LS seed extracts and their combination possess an ameliorative effect against ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis which may be attributed to presence of wide range phytochemicals in the studied extracts.