DAEGU, Republic of Korea—A common side effect of menopause is bone loss. Many women struggle with postmenopausal osteoporosis, and flavonoids, a group of polyphenolic compounds abundant in plants, are known for their preventive effects on bone loss, and inhibiting osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption is considered an effective therapeutic approach to treating postmenopausal bone loss.
Luteolin is a plant flavonoid that can be found in the produce aisle in celery and green pepper, or in the spice aisle in thyme. It has potent anti-inflammatory properties that have been shown both in vivo and vitro. A recent Korean study found luteolin markedly decreased the differentiation of both bone marrow mononuclear cells and Raw264.7 cells into osteoclasts (J Nutr Biochem. 2010). It also inhibited the bone resorptive activity of differentiated osteoclasts. Oral administration of luteolin (5 and 20 mg/kg/d) to ovariectomized (OVX) mice caused significant increase in bone mineral density and bone mineral content of trabecular and cortical bones in the femur when compared to OVX controls, and prevented decreases of bone strength indexes induced by OVX surgery. Luteolin prevented OVX-induced increases in bone turnover.
Researchers suggested luteolin as a potential preventive flavonoid for bone loss in postmenopausal osteoporosis by reducing reducing both osteoclast differentiation and function.