Black Tea May Be a Prospective Adjunct for Calcium Supplementation to Prevent Early Menopausal Bone Loss in a Rat Model of Osteoporosis

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to find out the ability of black tea extract (BTE) as a suitable alternative of adjunct for calcium supplementation in treating an ovariectomized rat model of early osteoporosis. Female Wistar rats weighing 140–150 g were divided into four groups consisting of six animals in each group: (A) sham-operated control; (B) bilaterally ovariectomized; (C) bilaterally ovariectomized + BTE; (D) bilaterally ovariectomized + 17β-estradiol. Results suggest that BTE could promote intestinal absorption of calcium significantly (P0.05). A comparative study with 17β-estradiol, a well-known adjunct for calcium supplementation, indicated that efficacy of BTE in maintaining skeletal health is close to that of 17β-estradiol. This study suggests that simultaneous use of BTE is promising as a prospective candidate for adjunctive therapies for calcium supplementation in the early stage of menopausal bone changes.