Background: Thymus vulgaris is a plant rich in essential oils acclaimed for the management of oxidative stress and inflammation in the organs. Meanwhile, the heavy metal lead is widely distributed in nature and continued exposure to lead acetate causes reduced fertility.Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the effects of T. vulgaris on ovarian and uterine structural and functional characteristics in female rats exposed to lead acetate. Methods: Three groups of 18 mature Wistar albino female rats (Rattus norvegicus), 15 weeks old and weighing between 200 and 210 g, were established and handled for 60 days as follows: Group A (control group) received 0.5 mL of distilled water (DW) daily; group B received 5 mg/kg body weight (BW) of lead acetate via oral gavage; and group C received 5 mg/kg BW of lead acetate via oral gavage followed by 75 mg/kg BW of T. vulgaris extract 2 hours later. Blood and tissue samples (uterus and ovary) were collected from euthanized animals.Results: Lead acetate caused oxidative stress, as indicated by increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. It also caused a decrease in serum estrogen and an increase in progesterone levels. Meanwhile, T. vulgaris caused a decrease in progesterone and MDA levels and an increase in estrogen levels and SOD activity. The histological changes of the ovary and uterus in the lead acetate group showed vascular degeneration and necrosis, and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) revealed an increase in positive cells. All these changes were restored to normal by T. vulgaris.Conclusion: Using alcoholic extracts of T. vulgaris acts as an antioxidant, helping to restore ovarian and uterine structure and function to near-normal levels in lead acetate-exposed rats.
Chemical Methodologies (CHEMM)
Samples of the ovary and uterus of local breed cats used to investigate the histological, histometrical and hormonal features. The paraffin embedding technique was used for processing of tissue that stained by hematoxyline and eosin stain, and massons trichrom stain. Ovary of at proestrus or oestrus phases composed of outer cortex that covered by cuboidal germinal epithelium and inner medulla. Tunica albuginea composed of a thin layer of characterized by fusiform stromal cells. The cortex content groups of Oogonial cells, numerous primordial follicles, little primary, secondary and tertiary follicles in addition for 1-2 follicular cysts and mature corpus letium. In pregnant cat the thickness of ovarian cortex was significantly incre
... Show MoreThe scarcity of irrigation water requires procedures of specific. One of these procedures is the implementation of the rationing system (a period of the irrigation followed by a period of the dry). This system can have an impact on the properties of irrigation channels. Therefore, the study of rationing system for irrigation channels is important in both water resources and civil engineering, especially if they are constructed with gypseous soil. In order to assess the rationing system on gypseous canals stabilized with a specific ratio of cement, practical experiments were conducted to detect the effect of wetting and drying cycles on the physical and hydraulic behavior of this soil and calculation of some properties of soil such a
... Show MoreThis research focuses on improvement of the corrosion behaviour of commercial pure titanium (Ti) grade II when exposed to Hank’s solution through different surface treatments. The disc shape of titanium samples were constructed to be divided according to their surface treatment. The first experimental group the Ti sample was exposed to computer numerical control (CNC) fiber laser machine. Whereas, the other experimental group the Ti sample was only coated with Polyetherketon keton (PEKK) by using carbon dioxide (CO2) laser technique while the last experimental group the Ti sample was treated with CNC fiber laser followed by PEKK coating by using CO2 laser technique. All were compared with the untreated control group. The electrochemical a
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To investigate the relationship between increased lipid peroxidation, and the lowering of both plasma total proteins and albumin in lead-exposed workers, and the effectiveness of antioxidants (vit. C and E) in modulating oxidative stress in those workers.
Thirty male and females workers employed in the Iraqi storage battery (age range 20-40 years) were participating in this study. Additionally, 11 healthy subjects were served as healthy controls, with the same age range compared to workers group, to avoid the effects of age variations on the studied parameters. Blood lead levels, erythrocytes and plasma MDA, erythrocytes and plasma GSH, total protein and albumin levels in healthy controls and lead-exposed workers pre- and post-tr
... Show MoreThe placement of buildings and structures on/or adjacent to slopes is possible, but this poses a danger to the structure due to failures that occur in slopes. Therefore, a solution or improvement should be determined for these issues of the collapse of the structure as a result of the failure of the slopes. A laboratory model has been built to test the impact of some variables on the bearing capacity factor. The variables include the magnitude of static axial load applied at the center of footing, the depth of embedment, the spacing between geogrid reinforcement layer and the numbering of the geogrid sheet under the footing, the inclination angle of slope clayey soil (β), the spacing between the footing's edge and the slope's end (b/H). Th
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