Keywords
Oxidative status, nutraceuticals, osteopenia, osteoporosis, prevention
Abstract
Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by decreased bone mineral density (BMD) and micro-architectural deterioration with, consequently, an increase in bone fragility and susceptibility to fractures. It is caused by an imbalance in bone remodelling: bone resorption by osteoclasts exceeds bone formation by osteoblasts. Osteopenia, a condition preceding osteoporosis, can be characterized by unbalanced metabolic-nutritional-oxidative status. If, by means of prevention tests, you realize in time you have this condition, it could be treated with success. Increasing evidence suggests that dietary silicon (Si) is beneficial to bone and connective tissue health; a positive association between dietary Si intake and BMD has been demonstrated. Our aim was to evaluate the possible beneficial effects of an antioxidant compound enriched with Si dioxide (CELLFOOD® SILICA PLUS, Nu Science Corporation, CA, USA) on osteopenic women’s BMD and metabolic-nutritional-oxidative status. A retrospective observational pilot study was carried out on 10 osteopenic women (aged 65,6±5,5) at baseline (T0) and after 3 (T1) and 5 (T2) months’ CELLFOOD® SILICA PLUS supplementation, by assessing anthropometric, metabolic (bone metabolism), nutritional (glycaemia status; lipid panel; homocysteinaemia, Hcy), oxidative (Reactive Oxygen Species, ROS; Total Antioxidant Capacity, TAC; oxidized LDL, ox-LDL) parameters. All the analytes were measured by routine methods. DBM evaluation was carried out by using phalangeal ultrasonographic examination (DMB Sonic Bone profiler, IGEA, Italy). During the study the subjects’ glycaemia status, lipid panel and homocysteinaemia were and remained within the reference values, taking into account intra-individual variability. Bone metabolism improved too (at T1, slight reduction in T-score, and, at T2, a significant increase in Calcium and Alkaline Phosphatase levels). Ox-LDL is an innovative marker of oxidative stress. Interestingly, oxidative status showed that ox-LDL levels decreased significantly after 5 months’ CELLFOOD® SILICA PLUS supplementation. This marker could be associated with the slight improvement in TAC. As expected, high ROS concentrations remained approximately unchanged. In fact, osteopenia following menopause causes oxidative stress because of estrogen (molecules with antioxidant properties) deficiency and unbalanced oxidative status (ROS and TAC imbalance) possibly depending on high osteoclastic activity. The preliminary data of this pilot study suggest that CELLFOOD® SILICA PLUS can produce beneficial effects on osteopenia. Interestingly, this supplement might be a valuable coadjuvant in the prevention and treatment of oxidative stress and of bone mineral resorption, thanks to both its antioxidant properties and Si dioxide fortification.
Abstract 
