Division of Surgery, IVRI, Izatnagar-243 122 (UP)
Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Bidar-585 401 (Karnataka)
Thirty-two New Zealand White rabbits of either sex, 60 day old, were randomly divided in 4 equal groups, A, B, C and D. The animals of groups B, C and D were administered with oral supplementation of calcium (2000 mg/kg of feed) and vit-D3 (1000 lU/kg of feed) for 60 days to induce osteopenia. The animals of group A were given standard prescribed ration without any supplementation, which served as negative control. The animals of group C were administered with TGFβ (10 ng, i.m. once in every three days), and animals of group D were given Nandrolone (Durabolin-5 mg, i.m. every week) for four weeks. Whereas animals of group B were kept as positive control. All the animals were evaluated based on different observations like body weight, radiographic observations, haemato-biochemical and hormone levels (plasma calcium, inorganic phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, urea nitrogen, osteocalcin and PTH) every 15 days up to 60 days after initiation of treatment. The results indicated that additional supplementation of calcium and vitamin D3 resulted in decreased density and thickness of bones in groups B, C and D as compared to that of group A, indicating osteopenia.
Administration of TGF-β and Nandrolone helped to increase the bone mineral density as compared to that of control animals. Between the two drugs, Nandrolone was relatively better than TGF-β in improving the mineral density of osteopenic bones in growing rabbits. Both the drugs did not show significant effect on haematobiochemical parameters.
