Enzymatic preparation of chondroitin sulfate oligosaccharides and its alleviating effect on ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats

Postmenopausal osteoporosis is the most common type of osteoporosis. Chondroitin sulfate (CS) has been suc-cessfully employed as food supplement against osteoarthritis, while the therapeutic potential on postmenopausal osteoporosis is little explored. In this study, CS oligosaccharides (CSOs) were enzymatically prepared through the lysis of CS by a chondroitinase from Microbacterium sp. Strain. The alleviating effects of CS, CSOs and Caltrate D (a clinically used supplement) on ovariectomy (OVX) -induced rat's osteoporosis were comparatively investi-gated. Our data showed that the prepared CSOs was basically unsaturated CS disaccharide mixture of Delta Di4S (53.1%), Delta Di6S (27.7%) and Delta Di0S (17.7%). 12 weeks' intragastric administration of Caltrate D (250 mg/kg/d), CS or CSOs (500 mg/kg/d, 250 mg/kg/d, 125 mg/kg/d) could obviously regulate the disorder of serum indices, recover the mechanical strength and mineral content of bone, improve the cortical bones' density and the number and length of trabecular bones in OVX rats. Both CS and CSOs in 500 mg/kg/d and 250 mg/kg/d could restore more efficiently the serum indices, bone fracture deflection and femur Ca than Caltrate D. As compared with CS at the same dosage, CSOs exhibited a more significant alleviating effect. These findings suggested that there was great potential of CSOs as daily interventions for delaying the progression of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Automated summary

In this study, CS oligosaccharides (CSOs) were enzymatically prepared and their therapeutic potential for postmenopausal osteoporosis was explored. The results showed that CS and CSOs could effectively alleviate osteoporosis induced by ovariectomy in rats. CSOs exhibited a more significant alleviating effect compared to CS. These findings suggest that CSOs have great potential as daily interventions for delaying the progression of postmenopausal osteoporosis.