Osteopenia, increased fracture risk, and delayed fracture healing have been linked to diabetes mellitus. Reduced bone mineral content, altered calcium and phosphate levels, and altered bone metabolism are commonly seen in patients with diabetes.

Cissus quadrangularis is known for its role in fracture healing. A study published in Advances in Pharmacological Sciences sought to determine the effect of C. quadrangularis on bone histology, biomechanical changes, and circulating bone markers in type 1 diabetic models.

The experimental models were divided into 5 groups of 6 models each. Group A was of normal controls (NC) that was given 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC); Group B was the diabetic control group (DC) that received 0.5% CMC; the diabetic + C. quadrangularis (CQ)1 group (DC + CQ1) formed Group C which received 500 mg/kg body weight dose of petroleum ether fraction of CQ (PECQ); Group D was the diabetic + CQ2 group (DC + CQ2) receiving 750 mg/kg body weight dose of PECQ; and Group E was the diabetic + insulin (INS) group (DC + INS) that received INS.

Investigators noted that the cortical and trabecular bone thickness and bone strength exhibited significant decline in diabetic models. Treatment with the two doses of PECQ significantly prevented these changes. Treatment with PECQ led to significant improvement in the trabecular bone thickness in comparison with DC group (Fig. 1). C. quadrangularis treatment also improved the cortical bone thickness when compared with DC models.

Fig. 1. Effect of PECQ on trabecular bone thickness in the epiphyseal region

PECQ treatment led to improvement in serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels and significant reduction in serum levels of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and hydroxyproline. The effects of PECQ treatment on histological, biomechanical, and biochemical parameters were found to be comparable to those of insulin.

C. quadrangularis was thus shown to improve bone health in hyperglycemic conditions as it enhanced the cortical and trabecular bone growth and altered circulating bone markers. C. quadrangularis extract could thus possibly serve as an effective therapy against diabetes-associated bone disorders.

Reference

1. Rao Sirasanagandla S, Ranganath Pai Karkala S, Potu BK, Bhat KM. Beneficial Effect of Cissus quadrangularis Linn. on Osteopenia Associated with Streptozotocin-Induced Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Male Wistar Rats. Adv Pharmacol Sci. 2014;2014:483051.