Protective Effects of Tribulus terrestris, Avena sativa, and White Ginseng Powder on Bone Mineral Density in Hypercholesterolemic Rats

This study investigated the effects of the herbal compounds Tribulus terrestris (TT), Avena sativa (AS), white ginseng (WG), and a triple combination (TC) powder on the serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceride, and the tibial bone mineral density (BMD) levels in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet. This study comprised Group I (normal pellet feed), Group II (pellet feed with 2% cholesterol), Group III (2% cholesterol plus 15% TT), Group IV (2% cholesterol plus 7.5% AS), Group V (2% cholesterol plus 5% WG) and Group VI (2% cholesterol plus 7.5 TT% + 3.75% AS, 2.5% WG). The serum total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, triglyceride, and tibial BMD (g/cm2) levels were measured. Significant decrease in the serum HDL-C levels in Group II than Group I, and significant increase in the serum LDL-C levels in Group II than Groups I and VI were determined. The tibial BMD levels were significantly lower in Groups II and IV than Group I. It was determined that WG and TC significantly prevented the serum total cholesterol increase; TC significantly prevented the serum LDL-C increase; and TT, WG, and TC were non-significantly effective in the improvement of tibial BMD levels.