The Potential of Chickpea (<i>Cicer arietinum L.</i>) for Anti-Osteoporotic Agent in Post-Menopausal Women: A Systematic Review of <i>In Vivo</i> Study

Abstract

This systematic review aimed to analyze the <em>in vivo</em> study of the anti-osteoporotic activity of chickpeas. A comprehensive search for English language papers published between January 2013 and December 2023 using the keywords chickpea or <em>Cicer arietinum</em>, anti-osteoporotic activity or anti-osteoporotic effect, chickpeas and anti-osteoporotic activity, <em>Cicer arietinum</em> and antiosteoporotic activity and their synonyms yielded 3566 results from PubMed, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink and Google Scholar. Articles were screened with titles, abstracts, full-text reviews based on inclusion/exclusion criteria, and evaluation of research quality using the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Animal Experimentation (SYRCLE). Four articles included in this systematic review were displayed in the PRISMA 2020 flowchart. Descriptive data analysis was conducted by comparing findings from several publications. Chickpea isoflavones affect bone metabolism by stimulating bone formation and inhibiting bone resorption <em>via</em> the RANK/RANKL/OPG pathway. Chickpeas might prevent osteoporosis caused by low estrogen levels in animal studies. In summary, further research is required to confirm the possibility of chickpeas as an anti-osteoporotic agent.