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Uien tegen osteoporose?*
Zwitserse wetenschappers hebben een peptide ontdekt in uien
te weten GPCS dat althans bij ratten zeer duidelijk botontkalking tegengaat.
Verder onderzoek is nodig of dit ook bij mensen geldt en de hoeveelheid uien die
dan nodig zijn.
Onion Compound May Help Fight
Osteoporosis
Besides adding flavor to food,
onions also may be good for your bones. Researchers at the University of Bern in
Switzerland have identified a compound in the popular vegetable that appears to
decrease bone loss in laboratory studies using rat bone cells. Although further
studies are needed, the current study suggests that eating onions might help
prevent bone loss and osteoporosis, a disease which predominately affects older
women. The disease results in an estimated $17 billion in medical costs in the
United States.
Their study, scheduled to
appear in the May 4 print issue of the American Chemical Society’s Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
In the current study, the
researchers analyzed the active chemical components of white onions and found
that the most likely compound responsible for the decreased bone loss was a
peptide called GPCS. The researchers then obtained a group of isolated bone
cells from newborn rats and exposed the cells to parathyroid hormone to
stimulate bone loss, then exposed some of the treated cells to GPCS. Treatment
with GPCS significantly inhibited the loss of bone minerals, including calcium,
when compared to cells that were not exposed to GPCS, according to the
researchers. Additional studies are needed to determine whether GPCS will have a
similar effect in people, how much onion or GPCS is needed for a positive effect
on bone health, and to determine the mechanism of action of GPCS on bone cells,
the researchers say.
The American Chemical Society
is a nonprofit organization, chartered by the U.S. Congress, with a
multidisciplinary membership of more than 158,000 chemists and chemical
engineers. It publishes numerous scientific journals and databases, convenes
major research conferences and provides educational, science policy and career
programs in chemistry. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus,
Ohio. (Mei 2005)