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Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol 14, Issue 3 278-285, Copyright © 1995 by American College of Nutrition

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Bone composition and histological analysis of young and aged rats fed diets of varied calcium bioavailability

C. A. Peterson, J. A. Eurell, K. W. Kelley and J. W. Erdman Jr
Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana 61801, USA.

OBJECTIVE: The effects of varied calcium bioavailability on bone development (young animal) and bone maintenance (aged animal) were evaluated by the application of bone composition and histologic/histomorphometric techniques. METHODS: Groups of male young (3-4 weeks old) and aged (24-month-old) rats were fed nutritionally-complete but calcium-restricted (0.15%) diets in which calcium was derived from spinach or nonfat dry milk (NFDM). A 0.5% calcium casein-based diet group was included as a comparison at the National Research Council's requirement level. All animals were pair-fed to the spinach-fed group. At the end of 60 days, lumbar vertebrae, tibia and femurs were harvested for bone histomorphometric and bone composition analyses. RESULTS: Histological analysis of the fifth lumbar vertebral body of the young spinach-fed group showed retarded development and mineralization of trabecular bone. Histomorphometry revealed that the spinach-fed group seemed to respond to the lower bioavailable calcium source by reducing the mineralization of bone matrix and stimulating bone resorption with a resultant decrease in bone volume (0.027, 0.059, 0.068 mm3 in spinach, NFDM and 0.5% calcium casein-based diet groups, respectively). The aged animals, however, appeared to respond to the reduction in available dietary calcium by mobilizing skeletal reserves, with a subsequent decrease in bone volume (0.057, 0.060, 0.073 mm3 in spinach, NFDM and 0.5% calcium casein-based diet groups, respectively). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that a low bioavailable calcium source, spinach, suppresses calcium deposition in bones of young animals resulting in a reduction in both quality and quantity of bone. Moreover, despite the stable structure of the mature bone, a low bioavailable calcium source may also compromise the skeletal integrity of the aged animal.


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F. Bronner and D. Pansu
Nutritional Aspects of Calcium Absorption
J. Nutr., January 1, 1999; 129(1): 9 - 12.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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Copyright © 1995 by the American College of Nutrition.