Abstract
Osteoporosis is one of the critical diseases with which the aging population is faced, along with heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. Recently, unconventional therapies come into wide use in the attempt to treat these diseases. Since hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for osteoporosis has diverse and sometimes untoward effects, alternative methods have been sought from among natural products. Using an ovariectomized (OVX) rat model along with a bone tissue culture model, several kinds of natural products, e.g. traditional herbal formulae, herbal medicines, food components, isoflavone, and polyphenols have been found to be effective as estradiol in preventing the development of bone loss by various mechanisms. These studies strongly suggest that natural products are useful as an alternative for preventing postmenopausal osteoporosis.
