Lipoic acid (LA) dose-dependently protects bone losses in the mandible of rats during the development of osteopenia by inhibiting oxidative stress and promoting bone formation.

Our study was carried out to evaluate the effect of lipoic acid (LA) on the densitometric properties, structure and mechanical strength of the mandible of Wistar rats with developing osteopenia. The study used 42 sham-operated (SHO) and ovariectomized (OVX) rats. The OVX rats were randomly divided (n = 6) onto two controls treated subcutaneously with physiological saline (OVX-PhS) and 17β-estradiol (OVX-E2), respectively, and onto four experimental OVX groups that received LA in the doses of 12.