(P17-007-24) Effects of Oral Supplementation of Vitamin D3 and Zinc on Bone Properties in Alcohol Abuse-Induced Chronic Pancreatitis in Rats

Objectives: Patients with alcohol abuse-induced chronic pancreatitis (ACP) were found to have nutrient malabsorption, resulting from impaired exocrine pancreatic function, which may lead to bone loss. Vitamin D3 and zinc have ability to maintain bone mass and regulate hormones associated with bone homeostasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of oral supplementation of vitamin D3 and zinc on bone mass and structure in ACP rats.

Methods: Rats fed Lieber-DeCarli liquid diets containing alcohol (36% of total calorie) for 13 weeks were supplemented with water, vitamin D3 (6.6 μg/kg body weight/day), zinc (5.5 μg Zn/ml diet), or a combination of vitamin D3 plus zinc. They were also injected with 3 doses of lipopolysaccharide (2 mg/kg/week) on the final 3 weeks. Rats fed an isocaloric Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet were used as controls.

Results: The results showed that ACP rats exhibited significant increases in plasma parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels and cortical bone porosity, and decreases in plasma bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP) levels, the thickness of trabecular and cortical bones in the tibia measured by micro-CT analysis, and the modulus in the femur measure by 3-point bending test. Supplementation with vitamin D3 and/or zinc significantly reduced plasma PTH levels without a significant impact on bone mass and structure in ACP rats. The results of 2-way ANOVA indicate that zinc supplementation may result in decreases in trabecular number and bone volume, and an increase in trabecular bone porosity.

Conclusions: Supplementation with zinc and vitamin D3 can alleviate the ACP-induced increase in PTH; however, it does not affect the bone loss of the tibia in ACP rats. Additionally, a low dose of zinc supplementation might not provide benefits to bone mass in the tibia in ACP.

Funding Sources: Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan