The effect of supplemental copper on osteopenia induced by ovariectomy in rats

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Abstract
The effect of a copper supplement on preventing bone mass loss induced by ovariectomy in rats was investigated. Three groups of fifteen 100-day-old female Wistar rats, each with a mean initial weight of approximately 260 g per animal, were selected for a 30-day experiment. One group of 15 ovariectomized rats was fed a diet supplemented with 15 mg of copper per kilogram of feed. The other two groups: 15 ovariectomized and 15 Sham- ovariectomized rats did not receive the supplement. Morphometric (weight and length) and densitometric studies with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry were performed on the whole femur and the fifth lumbar vertebra of each animal at the end of the 30-day period. The ovariectomized rat group fed a diet supplemented with copper did not show the bone mass loss at the axial (fifth lumbar vertebra) or peripheral (femur) level that was evidenced in the ovariectomized group. The results of the measurement of axial and peripheral bones show that a supplement of copper may have a potential therapeutic application in the treatment and prevention of involutional osteoporosis.

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