Antiosteoclastic Activity of Milk Thistle Extract after Ovariectomy to Suppress Estrogen Deficiency-Induced Osteoporosis
Figure 5
Histological femoral morphology (distal portions of the femora, (a)) and TRAP localization (b) in femoral bone tissue sections of ovariectomized (OVX) mice administrated with milk thistle extract (MTE) and silibinin. OVX mice were orally administrated with 10 mg/kg/day MTE or 10 mg/kg/day silibinin daily for 8 weeks. Longitudinal femoral bone tissues were stained using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) for the microscopic observation (a). The arrows indicate trabecular bones in the metaphysis and diaphysis. TRAP staining of cross-sections of femoral bone (b) was conducted by using leukocyte acid phosphatase kits, and the staining intensity (mean ± SEM, ) was measured. TRAP-positive osteoclasts (purple) are observed at the termini of metaphyseal trabeculae. Values in bar graphs not sharing a letter indicate significant difference at . Representative images were visualized under light microsopy (3 separate experiments). Magnification: 40-fold.
