Calcium Supplement Combined with Dietary Supplement Kidtal Can Promote Longitudinal Growth of Long Bone in Calcium-Deficient Adolescent Rats

Abstract

Objective: Growth retardation in adolescents caused by nutritional deficiency requires effective intervention. A novel dietary supplement containing bamboo shoot extract, amino acids, and calcium citrate (Kidtal + Ca, KDTCa) was evaluated for its growth-promoting effects. Methods: After acclimatization, sixty-three 3-week-old male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a normal control group and model groups. Growth retardation was induced in the modeling groups through calcium-deficient feeding, followed by administration of KDTCa, bamboo shoot extract and amino acids (Kidtal), or calcium citrate (CC). After 6 weeks of intragastric administration, the mechanical properties, microstructure, and growth plate development of bone were evaluated using three-point bending, micro-CT, and H&E staining, respectively. Bone calcium/phosphorus distribution and fecal calcium apparent absorption rate were measured by ICP-MS. Results: All inter-group differences were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and checked using the Tuckey test. KDTCa treatment dose-dependently enhanced bone development in calcium-deficient rats. Compared to the model group, H-KDTCa significantly restored naso-anal length (p < 0.05) and body weight (p < 0.01). KDTCa supplementation significantly restored calcium and phosphorus levels in blood and bone. Three-point bending experiments showed that the stiffness and bending energy were increased by 142.58% and 384.7%. In bone microarchitecture, both bone mineral density (BMD) and microstructural parameters were significantly improved. These findings were consistent with the increased long bone length (p < 0.05) and decreased serum BALP/TRACP levels (p < 0.001). Dose-dependent IGF-1 elevation (p < 0.01) potentially mediated growth plate elongation by 35.34%. Notably, KDTCa increased calcium apparent absorption by 6.1% versus calcium-only supplementation at equal intake. Conclusions: KDTCa improves bone microstructure and strength, restores bone metabolism, and enhances growth plate height via promoting IGF-1 secretion to facilitate bone development. Further studies are needed to determine whether the components and calcium in Kidtal have a synergistic effect.

Keywords: GH-IGF axis; amino acids; bamboo shoot extract; calcium; endochondral ossification; growth retardation.

Figure 1

Graphical representation of the animal experiment.

Figure 2

Effect of KDTCA on body parameters in rats (n = 9). (A) Body weight; (B) nose–tail length; (C) femur length; (D) tibia length; and (E) femur dry weight. Shared letters indicate non-significant group comparisons (p > 0.05), whereas distinct letters mark significant differences.

Figure 3

Effect of calcium and phosphorus content in serum and femur (n = 9). (A) Serum calcium; (B) serum phosphorus; (C) calcium in femur; and (D) phosphorus in femur. Shared letters indicate non-significant group comparisons (p > 0.05), whereas distinct letters mark significant differences.

Figure 4

Effects on serum biomarkers (n = 9) (A) BALP; (B) TRACP; and (C) IGF-1. Shared letters indicate non-significant group comparisons (p > 0.05), whereas distinct letters mark significant differences.

Figure 5

Effects on bone biomechanical parameters (n = 4). (A) Stiffness; (B) bending energy. Shared letters indicate non-significant group comparisons (p > 0.05), whereas distinct letters mark significant differences.

Figure 6

Effect of KDTCA on body parameters in rats (n = 5). (A) 3D cross-sectional image of the femur; (B) 3D reconstructed image of the femur; (C) BMD; (D) BV; (E) Tb.N; (F) Tb.Sq; and (G) Tb.Th. Shared letters indicate non-significant group comparisons (p > 0.05), whereas distinct letters mark significant differences.

Figure 7

Effects of KDTCA on different regions of the growth plate (n = 5). (A) Growth plate histological sections (RZ: resting zone, PZ: proliferative zone, HZ: hypertrophic zone); (B) total growth plate height; (C) height of the resting zone; (D) height of the proliferative zone; and (E) height of the hypertrophic zone. Shared letters indicate non-significant group comparisons (p > 0.05), whereas distinct letters mark significant differences.

Figure 8

The effect of KDTCA on apparent calcium absorption rate (n = 9). Shared letters indicate non-significant group comparisons (p > 0.05), whereas distinct letters mark significant differences.

Figure 9

The chromatogram was obtained from the analysis of bamboo shoot extract using an automated amino acid analyzer.