Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic bone disease in females. Decreased estrogen during menopause contributes significantly to the increased rate of bone remodeling, leading to an imbalance between bone resorption and formation, ultimately leading to bone loss and osteoporosis. Due to the great need to develop new drugs to prevent and to treat osteoporosis, recent studies suggest the phytoestrogens may exert a protective effect against osteoporosis. This study examined whether treatment with phytoestrogen extract from Pandanus tectorius seed (PTE) exerted a preventive effect on estrogen deficiency induced osteoporosis. The result of the study showed the potential of PTE as a new dual regulator of bone formation and bone resorption. PTE may alleviate the osteoporotic phenotype in OVX rats and improve bone remodeling. In particular, PTE is orally bioactive and safe for chronic treatment. Therefore, it acts as an excellent compound for further medical applications to maximize its therapeutic properties in various bone diseases, especially postmenopausal osteoporosis. PTE-H restores of the bone microarchitecture in ovariectomized rats by promoting bone formation and inhibiting bone resorption. Pandanus tectorius seed extract 900 mg/kg bw may be a novel supplement for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis

Sri Endarti Rahayu has completed her PhD from IPB Agricultural University, Indonesia. She is the vice Dean  of Faculty of Biology and Agriculture, Universitas Nasional, Indonesia. She has studied medicinal plants of the Pandanaceae family in Java.