- Academic Editor
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†These authors contributed equally.
§These authors contributed equally.
Background: Metabolic bone disease, associated with estrogen
deficiency, is common condition in postmenopausal women. Paeonia
lactiflora Pall. (PL) and Astragalus membranaceus (AM) have been known
to have estrogenic activity and to improve postmenopausal osteoporosis symptoms
when used as a mixture with other herbs. However, there have been no comparative
studies on the effects of PL and AM on the bone metabolic profile. Thus, the
present study aimed to investigate the effects of the single extracts of PL and
AM on bone and metabolic profile, and further to compare the effects of the two
herbs. Method: A total of 70 mice were randomly divided into seven
groups (n = 10): six groups were bilaterally ovariectomized (OVX) and one group
served as a sham-operated control (Sham). Two OVX groups received PL at 23.5
(OVX-PL-L) and 47 (OVX-PL-H) mg/kg bw/day. Another two OVX groups received AM at
38.5 (OVX-AM-L) and 77 (OVX-AM-H) mg/kg bw/day. The remaining two groups served
as positive and negative controls and received estradiol valerate (OVX-E