Medicinal Plants for the Management of Post Menopausal Osteoporosis: A Review

ABSTRACT

Osteoporosis, a silent epidemic has become a major health hazard in recent years. Osteoporosis which increases bone fragility and thereby the risk of fractures is associated with high mortality, morbidity and high medical expenses throughout the world. Though ovarian hormone deficiency is a major risk factor for osteoporosis in the postmenopausal women, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), perhaps the most effective treatment, is not preferred as it increases the risk of breast cancer and of cardiovascular diseases. The other available therapeutic agents are also associated with certain adverse effects. In this context, phytoestrogens are believed to play a role in maintaining or improving skeletal health. The present work reviews scientific information on medicinal plants which have already been documented for their antiosteoporotic activity. These plants may differ from each other in their mechanisms of action, they either bind with estrogen receptors which exhibit responses at the cellular and molecular levels, or in some cases they act by improving defense against oxidative stress”. The review which covers 18 plants briefly discusses their morphology, family, common name, phytoconstituents and proposed mechanism of action.