Intestine parathyroid hormone affecting

Q7 Calcium is present in both intracellular fluid (ICF) and ECF, but the concentration in the ECF is twice as high as that in the ICF. Calcium is found in both ionized and bound forms, and Ca2+ homeostasis is mainly controlled by parathyroid hormone, which increases absorption of calcium in the intestine and reabsorption in the nephron. Calcitonin also affects ECF calcium concentration by promoting renal excretion when there is an excess of calcium in the body. The normal kidney filters and reabsorbs most of the filtered calcium however, in renal disease this is reduced and blood calcium decreases. Calcium and phosphate imbalance can occur in patients with renal failure, leading to osteomalacia (defective mineralization of bone). Osteomalacia is mainly due to reduced production of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, an active form of vitamin D metabolized in the kidney. Deficiency of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol reduces the absorption of calcium salts by the intestine. 

The physiological role of vitamin D is to maintain calcium homeostasis. Phosphate metabolism is also affected. Vitamin D accomplishes its role by enhancing the absorption of calcium and phosphate from tte small intestines, promoting their mobilization from bone, and decreasing their excretion by the kidney. Also involved are parathyroid hormone and edeitonin. 

As RJ contains testosterone [24] and possesses steroid hormone-type activities [54—57], it was hypothesized that it may have beneficial effects on osteoporosis. In a recent study, both an ovariectomized rat model and a tissue culture model were used. The results of the study indicated that RJ was almost as effective as 17p-estradiol in preventing the development of bone loss induced by ovariectomy in rats. In tissue culture models, RJ increased calcium contents in femoral-diaphyseal and femoral-metaphyseal tissue cultures obtained from normal male rats however, in a mouse marrow culture model, it neither inhibited the parathyroid hormone (PTH)-induced calcium loss nor affected the formation of osteoclast-like cells induced by PTH. Therefore, these results suggested that RJ may prevent osteoporosis by enhancing intestinal calcium absorption, but not by directly antagonizing the action of PTH [60]. In a comparable study, it was investigated whether RJ and bee pollen reduce the bone loss due to osteoporosis in oophorectomized female rats model. It was concluded that RJ and bee pollen after a 12-week treatment decrease the bone loss due to osteoporosis, proposing that these results may contribute to the clinical practice [61]. 

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