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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Healthy Body Weight Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #187229
Title: DIETARY BORON AND FISH OIL HAVE DESIRABLE EFFECTS ON VERTEBRA MICROARCHITECTURE AND STRENGTH

Author
item Nielsen, Forrest - Frosty
item STOECKER, BARBARA - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/10/2005
Publication Date: 3/6/2006
Citation: Nielsen, F.H., Stoecker, B. 2006. Dietary boron and fish oil have desirable effects on vertebra microarchitecture and strength [abstract]. FASEB J. 20(4):A561.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Nutritional amounts of boron (B) and fish oil (FO) beneficially affect long bone histomorphological and gross physical characteristics. Thus, an experiment was performed to determine whether B deprivation and FO instead of safflower oil (SO) in the diet would change vertebral microarchitecture and strength. Female rats were fed diets containing 0.1 mg B/kg in a factorial arrangement with variables of supplemental B at 0 (B-def) or 3 (B-adq) mg/kg and fat sources of 75 g SO/kg or 65 g FO (menhaden oil)/kg plus 10 g linoleic acid/kg (added to assure adequacy of n-6 fatty acids). After 6 weeks, 6 females per treatment were bred. Dams and pups continued on their respective diets through gestation, lactation and after weaning. Femurs for mineral analysis and vertebrae for examination by microcomputed tomography were collected from 15 and 12 males per group, respectively, at age 21 wk. Rats fed the B-def diet exhibited deficiency signs of decreased femur B concentrations and body weight. Vertebral trabecular separation and structural model index were increased and trabecular bone volume fraction was decreased by B-def. Trabecular thickness was decreased by B-def with the effect more marked when SO was fed. Trabecular cross sectional area was increased by FO. Finite element analysis indicated that the force required to compress the vertebral core was increased (P<0.05) by FO and tended (P<0.08) to be decreased (1929 vs 1595 N) by B-def. The findings show that FO and B have synergistic favorable effects on vertebral microarchitecture and strength. (Supported by in-house USDA & Okla. Agric. Expt. Station funds)