2001 Volume 47 Issue 1 Pages 84-86
Malnutrition, particularly protein undernutrition, contributes to the occur-rence of osteoporotic fracture by lowering bone mass. In this study, the effects of dietary pro-tein on bone mineral density and body weight in protein undernutrition were compared be-tween gelatin and milk casein. When mice were fed for 10 wk with a low protein diet con-taining 10% casein or 6% casein+4% gelatin, there was no significant difference in the final body weight between the 6% casein+4% gelatin group and the 10% casein group. In con-trast, bone mineral content and bone mineral density of the femur were significantly higher in the 6% casein+4% gelatin group than in the 10% casein group. Bone mineral content and bone mineral density did not differ significantly in 14% protein groups between 14% casein and 6% casein+8% gelatin. These results suggest that gelatin has differential effects on bone mineral density and body weight in protein undernutrition.
