 |
Protodioscin,
a nutritional supplement for the premenopausal and menopausal women
(Preliminary report focused on the bone-turn-over activity )
Muharam R, Irmansyah F, Dermasetiawan S, Hutama P, Basuki H, Soedjono
J, Samil RS, and Adimoelja A
General Hospital “Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo”, University
of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
Naval Hospital “Dr. Ramelan”, Hang Tuah University of
Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia
Introduction
Protodioscin, a phytochemical extract from the Tribulus terrestris
plant, has been clinically tested to improve sexual desire and enhance
erection in men via its conversion to dehydroepinandrosterone (DHEA).
Aging is associated with the decline in the production of DHEA,
GH, and IGF-1, decline of which may also trigger osteoporosis. Protodioscin
has been proven to enhance the production of GH and IGF-1, and thus
could be important for the bone formation activity by inducing osteoblast
formation and suppressing the osteclast activity.
Objective
To investigate the positive effect of the protodioscin nutritional
supplement on the bone-turn-over (BTO) activity in the premenopausal
and menopausal women.
Design
Double blind placebo controlled study
Materials and Methods
Random double blind trials of 30 premenopausal and menopausal women
(age 45 and over) were divided into two groups. Group I (n=15) were
consuming protodioscin (Tribulus terrestris extract) at 1,500 mg/day
for 6 weeks and Group II (n=15) were consuming placebo. The BTO
in the study were presented with the osteocalsin (OST) and alkaline
phosphatase isoenzyme (ALP) blood levels before and after 6 weeks
of protodioscin treatment. BTO of ten women in their reproductive
age were also measured for base-line control data.
Results
A significant decrease was observed in the mean ALP in Group I,
from 81.120 (SD = 29.649) to 73.267 (SD = 25.438) (p < 0.05).
In Group II, an increase of mean ALP were observed from 86.533 (SD
= 23.041) to 91,400 (SD = 25.953), although this is not statistically
significant (p >0.05). A significant increase was observed in
the mean OST in Group I, from 11.390 (SD = 5.967) to 14.556 (SD
= 8.728) (p < 0.05). In Group II, we observed a statistically
non-significant increase of OST, from 13.574 (SD = 6.532) to 14.113
(SD = 5.325) (p > 0.05).
Conclusion
The protodioscin nutritional supplement has positive effects on
the BTO in premenopausal and menopausal women.
Keywords
Protodioscin, DHEA, ALP, OST, premenopause, menopause
|
