Dietary alpha-ketoglutarate reduces gastrectomy-evoked loss of calvaria and trabecular bone in female rats.

Objective: Surgical removal of the stomach (gastrectomy, Gx) leads to osteopenia in animals and in humans. In the rat, Gx adversely affects calvaria and trabecular bone. alpha-Ketoglutarate (AKG) is a precursor of hydroxyproline--the most abundant amino acid in bone collagen.