The effects of conjugated estrogen, raloxifene and soy extract on collagen in rat bones

ABSTRACTObjective To evaluate the action of conjugated equine estrogen, raloxifene and isolated or combined genistein-rich soy extracts on collagen fibers in the bones of oophorectomized rats.Materials and methods Seventy female rats received testosterone propionate (0.1 µg/g) on the 9th day after birth. At 6 months of age, the rats were administered the vehicle (propylene glycol, 0.5 ml/day), and ten of the rats were randomly chosen to comprise the non-oophorectomized control group (GI). The other 60 rats were ovariectomized and randomized into six groups of ten as follows: GII, vehicle; GIII, conjugated equine estrogen (CEE), 50 µg/kg/day; GIV, raloxifene (RAL), 0.75 mg/kg/day; GV, genistein-rich soy extract (GSE), 300 mg/kg/day; GVI, CEE + GSE, 50 µg/kg/day + 300 mg/kg/day; and GVII, CEE + RAL, 50 µg/kg/day + 0.75 mg/kg/day. Three months after surgery, the drugs were administered for 60 consecutive days. All rats were euthanized, and their left tibiae were removed for histological routine. The histolog...