Effects of Korean red ginseng on three-dimensional trabecular bone microarchitecture and strength in growing rats: Comparison with changes due to jump exercise

OBJECTIVES: The preventive effects of Korean red ginseng (KRG) on bone loss and microarchitectural deterioration have been extensively studied in animal models. However, few results have been reported for the effects of KRG on the trabecular microarchitecture as compared to changes resulting from physiological stimuli such as exercise load. We compared the effects of KRG and jump exercise on improvements in trabecular microarchitecture and strength of the distal femoral metaphysis in rats. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Eleven-week-old male Wistar rats were divided into sedentary (CON), KRG-administered (KRG), and jump-exercised (JUM) groups. Rats were orally administered KRG extract (200 mg/kg body weight/day) once a day for 6 weeks. The jump exercise protocol comprised 10 jumps/day, 5 days/week at a jump height of 40 cm. We used microcomputed tomography to assess the microarchitecture, volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD), and fracture load as predicted by finite element analysis at the right distal femoral metaphysis. The left femur was used for the quantitative bone histomorphometry measurements. RESULTS: Although KRG produced significantly higher trabecular bone volume (BV/TV) than CON, BV/TV was even higher in JUM than in KRG, and differences in vBMD and fracture load were only significant between JUM and CON. In terms of trabecular microarchitecture, KRG increased trabecular number and connectivity, whereas the JUM group showed increased trabecular thickness. Bone resorption showed significant decrease by JUM and KRG group. In contrast, bone formation showed significant increase by JUM group. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that KRG has weak but significant positive effects on bone mass and suggest that the effects on trabecular microarchitecture differ from those of jump exercise. The effects of combined KRG and jump exercise on trabecular bone mass and strength should be investigated.