Glycosaminoglycans from growing antlers of wapiti (Cervus elaphus)

The effect of deer antler from East Kalimantan to increase trabecular bone density and calcium levels in serum on osteoporotic mice

OBJECTIVES

Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (dexamethasone) is a primary cause of secondary osteoporosis by the decreasing formation and increasing resorption activities. Previously, the in vitro study showed that 70% ethanol and aqueous extract of deer antler have increased alkaline phosphatase in osteoblast cell that known as marker of bone formation. The mind of this study is to analyze the effect of deer antlers in increasing the bone trabecular density of osteoporosis-induced male mice.

METHODS

This study used a post-test control group design. A total of 54 healthy male mice were randomly divided to nine groups, i.e., healthy control, osteoporotic, positive control, 70% ethanol (4, 8, and 12 mg/kg BW), and aqueous extracts (4, 8, and 12 mg/kg BW) of deer antler groups. All of the interventions were given 1 mL of test sample for 4 weeks orally. The bone densities were determined using histomorphometry by Image J and Adobe Photoshop. The statistical data were performed using SPSS 23 and statistical significance was set at p<0.05.

RESULTS

The results showed that alendronate group, 70% ethanol, and aqueous extract groups increased bone density and calcium levels in serum (p<0.05) compared to osteoporotic group in dose dependent manner. It indicated that 70% ethanol and aqueous extract of deer antler stimulating bone turnover and aqueous extract showed the highest.

CONCLUSIONS

Dexamethasone induction for 4 weeks caused osteoporotic mice and the administration of 70% ethanol and aqueous extracts of deer antler from East Kalimantan increased trabecular bone density and calcium levels in dose dependent manner.

The Effects of Elk Velvet Antler Dietary Supplementation on Physical Growth and Bone Development in Growing Rats

Elk velvet antler (EVA) has been used in traditional Oriental medicine for centuries to promote general health; however, little evidence for its effect on bone development is available. We investigated the effects of lifelong exposure of Wistar rats to a diet containing 10% EVA on physical growth and bone development. Measurements included weekly body weights, blood chemistry and kidney and testis/ovary indices (sacrificed at 5, 9, or 16 weeks of age), and bone traits of the femur bones by peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). Mean body weights were higher in the EVA group at 4–8 weeks in males and at 5 weeks of age in females. The kidney indices were greater in EVA dietary supplemented male rats at 5 and 16 weeks of age, in females at 16 weeks of age, and testis/ovary indices at 5 weeks of age. The femoral length was increased in both males and females at 5 weeks, and several pQCT-measured parameters had increased in EVA males and females. The activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) increased in EVA group while the content of calcium and phosphorus did not differ among groups. Our results seem to support a role for dietary supplementation of EVA on growth and bone development in this model.

Bone regeneration strategy inspired by the study of calcification behavior in deer antler

Bone regeneration has attracted much attention from various researchers and inspired numerous strategies for bone formation. In this study, rapid calcification of deer antlers was studied to unravel bone biology by investigating mineral composition, morphology and microstructure. Calcification model was hypothesized and preliminarily established by in vitro experiments. In our model, mineral deposition and phase conversions in the gel matrix were mimicked. Results revealed that mineral metabolism including deposition and phase conversion plays key roles in calcification in vivo, which inspired the bone regeneration strategy with three main components, i.e. enhanced mineral nucleation, mineral ions sources and crystals habits. Rapid mineral metabolism of implant apatite biomaterials was supposed as the critical aspect of bone regeneration. This study will provide a relatively ideal model for peer bone regeneration studies.

Chondroitin sulphate extracted from antler cartilage using high hydrostatic pressure and enzymatic hydrolysis

Chondroitin sulphate (CS), a major glycosaminoglycan, is an essential component of the extracellular matrix in cartilaginous tissues. Wapiti velvet antlers are a rich source of these molecules. The purpose of the present study was to develop an effective isolation procedure of CS from fresh velvet antlers using a combination of high hydrostatic pressure (100 MPa) and enzymatic hydrolysis (papain). High CS extractability (95.1 ± 2.5%) of total uronic acid was obtained following incubation (4 h at 50 °C) with papain at pH 6.0 in 100 MPa compared to low extractability (19 ± 1.1%) in ambient pressure (0.1 MPa). Antler CS fractions were isolated by Sephacryl S-300 chromatography and identified by western blot using an anti-CS monoclonal antibody. The antler CS fraction did not aggregate with hyaluronic acid in CL-2B chromatography and possessed DPPH radical scavenging activity at 78.3 ± 1.5%. The results indicated that high hydrostatic pressure and enzymatic hydrolysis procedure may be a useful tool for the isolation of CS from antler cartilaginous tissues.

Effects of growth stage and position within the beam in the structure and chemical composition of sika deer (Cervus nippon) antlers

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the changes in structural and chemical properties of sika deer antler at different stages of its growth in order to improve scientific assessment of antler’s quality. Eighteen antler samples, harvested on 40, 50 and 60 days after casting were collected from randomly selected deer farms, and the structural properties of antlers were examined. The chemical composition of each antler was determined in the upper, middle and basal section. Our results showed that the crude protein, crude fat (ether extract), uronic acid and sialic acid increased markedly from the base to the upper section, but the ash was higher in the basal section. Collagen content increased significantly from the upper to the basal section in all groups. The structural factors, including length and girth were positively or negatively correlated with the chemical composition such as glycosaminoglycans, ether extract-fat, ash, uronic acid, sialic acid, total sugar and collagen content. These findings may provide useful basic information and identify biomarkers for the association between structural properties and chemical composition during antler growth period, which should facilitate efficient production of high quality antlers for food consumption and as pharmaceutical agents.

Elk velvet antler in rheumatoid arthritis: phase II trial

The purpose of this phase II clinical trial was to examine safety of elk velvet antler taken concurrently with rheumatoid arthritis medications and to determine efficacy by dose to enable sample size estimation and dose standardization for a larger study. Forty patients with stage II rheumatoid arthritis were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 arms of 10 patients each. One group received placebo and the other 3 groups received 2, 4, or 6 capsules (215 mg) of elk velvet antler with appropriate placebos to total 6 capsules daily. All subjects continued to take their arthritis medications. Outcome variables were reported adverse events and health status. At 1 month, there were no significant differences between groups in number of adverse events or health status. The greatest improvement was in the 6 elk velvet antler group, the least was in the placebo group. Differences were not statistically significant. It was concluded that elk velvet antler can be taken safely in conjunction with a number of rheumatoid arthritis medications and should be studied further to assess efficacy.

Isolation and characterization of proteoglycans from growing antlers of wapiti (Cervus elaphus)

Proteoglycans were extracted with 4 M guanidine-HCl from the zone of maturing chondrocytes, the site of endochondral ossification of growing antlers of wapiti (Cervus elaphus). Proteoglycans were isolated by DEAE-Sephacel chromatography and separated by Sepharose CL-4B chromatography into three fractions. Fraction I contained a high molecular mass (> 1000 kDa) chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan capable of interacting with hyaluronic acid. Its amino acid composition resembled that of the cartilage proteoglycan, aggrecan. Fraction II contained proteoglycans with intermediate molecular weight which were recognized by monoclonal antibodies specific to chondroitin sulfate and keratan sulfate. Fraction III contained a low molecular mass (< 160 kDa) proteoglycan, decorin, with a glucuronate-rich glycosaminoglycan chain.