Effects of the phytoestrogen Vitex agnus-castus L. administration on bone healing during controlled implant loading in ovariectomized rats

• Grant number: 23/06393-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: January 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Dentistry
• Principal Investigator: Karina Fittipaldi Bombonato Prado
• Grantee: Maria Carolina Coelho
• Supervisor: Antonio Nanci
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia de Ribeirão Preto (FORP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Université de Montréal, Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/14976-6 - Bioactivity effects of Vitex agnus-castus L. (chaste berry) on the modulation of in vitro osteogenesis and on the protection against mandibular and femoral bone loss in a experimental model of rat Osteoporosis, BP.DD

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a disease of high prevalence in the population, in which the pathogenesis is associated with oxidative stress causing an imbalance in the bone homeostasis process, with high resorption and low deposition of mineralized matrix. There are several treatments for osteoporosis, but they are characterized by a high incidence of undesirable side effects, which raises the need for the search for effective alternative therapies, that at the same time had no side effects. Evidence shows that phytoestrogens, found in abundance in the plant kingdom, could be used as an alternative treatment for osteoporosis because they have a similar effect to estrogen in the body, which, in turn, acts by increasing bone deposition and reducing bone resorption, in addition, to have an antioxidant effect, acting to protect cells against the effects caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by oxidative stress. Patients with osteoporosis are subject to fractures that require prosthetics implant and eventually their replacements. Therefore, the purpose of the present work is to evaluate the systemic effect of Vitex agnus-castus (VAC) extract on bone healing around implants with and without controlled loading in the tibia of female rats submitted to an experimental model of osteoporosis. For this, the rats will be divided into groups: 1) Ovariectomy (OVX), and 2) Ovariectomy with VAC administration (VAC + OVX). The ovariectomized rats will be submitted to oral administration of VAC, three times a week, for 28 days. At 14 days after the start of VAC treatment, implants will be placed in the tibias, with micromotion application for 7 days. The groups will be subdivided into: a) No load application; b) 1.5 N once a day, daily; c) 1.5 N twice a day, daily. All animals will be euthanized 7 days after end of micromotion (day 28). The tibias will be processed for histomorphometry and RNA Sequencing. The data obtained will be submitted to statistical analysis with a p<0.05. (AU)