NEW YORK -- Vitamin C may protect against osteoporosis -- a disease in which the bones of the elderly become brittle and can fracture, U.S. researchers say. 

Dr. Mone Zaidi, director of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine Bone Program, and colleagues removed the ovaries of mice, a procedure -- ovariectomies -- known to reduce bone density, and compared them with control mice that had “sham” operations, which left the ovaries intact.

The mice with ovariectomies were divided into two groups, one of which was given large doses of vitamin C over eight weeks. The scientists measured the bone mineral density in the lumbar spine, femur and tibia bones.

The study found the mice that received an ovariectomy and no vitamin C had a much lower bone mineral density versus controls, whereas mice that received a ovariectomy and large doses of vitamin C, had roughly the same bone mineral density as the controls. The outcome suggests vitamin C prevented bone mineral density loss, the researchers said.

“This study has profound public health implications, and is well worth exploring for its therapeutic potential in people,” Zaidi, the lead researcher, said in a statement. “The medical world has known for some time that low amounts of vitamin C can cause scurvy and brittle bones, and that higher vitamin C intake is associated with higher bone mass in humans. Large doses of vitamin C, when ingested orally by mice, actively stimulated bone formation to protect the skeleton.”

The study was published in the journal Plos One.

<관련 한글 기사>

골다공증 예방, 흔히 섭취하는 ’이걸로’

노년기가 되어 골밀도가 약해지고 뼈가 쉽게 부러지는 증상을 가져오는 골다공증은 우리가 흔히 섭취할 수 있는 비타민 C로 예방 가능하다고 최근 미국 연구팀이 밝혔다.

몬 자이디 박사가 이끈 연구팀은 쥐의 난소를 제거한 후 비타민 C를 투여한 그룹과 그렇지 않은 그룹으로 나누어 골밀도를 비교했다.

그 결과 비타민 C를 투여한 그룹의 쥐가 그렇지 않았던 그룹의 쥐보다 골밀도가 훨씬 높은 것으로 조사되었다.

자이디 박사는 "비타민 C의 섭취가 부족하면 뼈가 잘 부스러질 수 있다"며 비타민 C는 뼈의 형성을 활발하게 자극하는 것으로 나타났다고 말했다.

(코리아헤럴드)