Salvia officinalis Extract and 17β-Estradiol Suppresses Ovariectomy Induced Osteoporosis in Female Rats

<b>Background and Objective:</b> Osteoporosis is a progressive metabolic disorder characterized by an impaired bone formation that leads to increased morbidity and mortality.<i> Salvia officinalis </i>is a source of phytoestrogens that could help mitigate the risk of osteoporotic rat fracture by exerting sex hormones. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the curative effect of <i>Salvia officinalis </i>Extract<i> </i>(SOE) and<i> </i>17β-estradiol (E₂) and their combination<i> </i>on bone loss in female rats with ovariectomy-induced estrogen deficiency <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Forty adult female albino rats were divided into five groups, which included Sham control (Sham), ovariectomy (OVX), OVX+SOE, OVX+E₂ and OVX +SOE+E₂.<i> </i>SOE (10 mL kg¹) and E₂ (30 μg kg¹) had been daily gavaged in the OVX+SOE, OVX+E₂ and OVX+SOE+E₂, respectively for 6-weeks. <b>Results:</b> The model of ovariectomy resulted in osteoporosis as demonstrated by the decreased serum Ca, P, vitamin D, E₂ level associated with a significant increase in PTH levels in comparison to the sham control group. Besides, OVX to rats caused up-regulation in the levels of CTX-1, P1NP, BALP, OC and RANKL comparable to the sham control group. Moreover, SOE and E₂ significantly modulated the calciotropic parameters and improved all bone turnover markers as well as RANKL as compared to the OVX group. However, Histopathological and immunohistochemical results showed defective mineralization with the destruction of the bone matrix and increased TNF-α expression from the OVX group relative to the treated groups. <b>Conclusion:</b> These results suggest that both SOE and E₂ or their combined administration are efficient inhibitors against ovariectomy-induced bone loss in female rats.