Protective effects and mechanism of chrysophanol against age-related osteoporosis in rats

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Suzhou City Xiangcheng District Third People’s Hospital, Suzhou 215100, China

2 Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China

10.22038/ijbms.2026.87322.18864

Abstract

Objective(s): This study aimed to investigate the protective effect and underlying mechanism of chrysophanol (CPH) on senile osteoporosis (OP) in rats. 
Materials and Methods: Twenty-four-month-old rats were divided into an aged OP model group and low- (10 mg/kg), medium- (20 mg/kg), and high-dose (50 mg/kg) CPH groups, with eight-month-old rats used as the control group. After 60 days of oral CPH administration, the bone mineral density (BMD), bone volume fraction (BV/TV), trabecular number (TbN), and trabecular separation (TbSp) of the femur were analysed using Micro-CT. Serum levels of bone formation markers (alkaline phosphatase, ALP; osteocalcin, OC) and bone resorption markers (type I collagen crosslinked N-telopeptide, NTX; tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, TRACP) were determined by ELISA. Pathological changes in the femur were observed via H&E staining, and the expression of p-AKT and p-mTOR proteins in bone marrow was detected by western blotting.
Results: Compared with those in the control group, the bone formation marker levels, BMD, BV/TV, and TbN in the model group significantly decreased, whereas the bone resorption marker levels, TbSp, and expression levels of p-AKT and p-mTOR significantly increased, with obvious bone structure destruction. CPH treatment reversed these changes in a dose dependent manner, significantly enhanced bone formation, inhibited bone resorption, improved bone density and microstructure, and down-regulated the expression of p-AKT and p-mTOR. 
Conclusion: CPH can effectively improve bone density and microstructure in aged osteoporotic rats, and its bone-protective effect may be related to the inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

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Main Subjects

References

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Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 25 April 2026

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