Long bones under three-point bending: The role of special feed on bone’s mechanical properties

Osteoporosis is a bone disease that causes a reduction in bone mineral density and microarchitecture, and subsequently in bone strength. It is estimated that millions of people suffer from some type of osteoporosis. Ιn this study, a quantitative comparison of two different types of enriched diet, i.e., with sesame oil and tahini, was made, in order to assess the effect of these particular types of feed on the strength of rat bones. The experimental procedure was based on a well-documented model for rats’ femoral bones, which underwent three-point bending test. After the fracture of each bone, one of the two fragments was embedded in resin and the bone-resin construct was, then, photographed with a stereoscope. As a next step, the photo was inserted in commercially available CAD software and the actual cross section of the fractured bone was drawn. Taking advantage of the accurate calculation of the geometric characteristics of the cross section, the maximum bending stress, the parasitic shear stress and the equivalent von Mises stress were determined. The results of the study revealed that both sesame oil and tahini seem to be beneficial for the femur bone with sesame oil to be the most beneficial one. In addition, the study pointed out the necessity of using the accurate cross section of the bone rather than any kind of approximate configuration.