Effects of low-protein diet and caloric restriction on strontium metabolism

Abstract

The finding of a high bone strontium content in paleodietary analysis may suggest consumption of a vegetable-based diet and/or marine products. Some previous results have pointed out that protein- and caloric restriction also lead to an increase in bone strontium. Based on this fact, we analyze bone strontium, calcium and magnesium contents in 140 adult male Sprague Dawley rats fed the Lieber-DeCarli liquid control diet (18% protein), 124 fed an isocaloric, 2% protein-containing diet (following a pair-feeding process) and 17, an 18% protein-containing diet ad libitum. Bone strontium was lower in the ad libitum fed animals (F = 6.75, p = 0.001) and kept an inverse relationship with the amount of diet consumed (r = -0.24) and with weight at the end of the experiment (r = -0.34). Thus, protein-calorie malnutrition leads to raised bone strontium content, at least in the Lieber-de Carli rat model.