ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Estrogens has traditionally been known as the female hormone, but this idea has been challenged in early 1990’s and an essential physiological role for estrogen in male fertility was identified. Phytoestrogens are naturally occurring non-steroidal plant chemicals that can act like the female hormone estrogen. The herbs ( anise alfalfa and vervain ) chosen in this study contain phytoestrogens. OBJECTIVE: Previous studies demonstrated controversy of the effects of phytoestrogens on the rat testes .Hence, the present investigation was undertaken to investigate the influence of typical dose of herbs containing phytoestrogen on the rat testis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four apparently normal mature male rats were divided into four groups of 6 animals each. The first "control" group received only 4ml of distilled water as a placebo. The second group received 40mg/kg of anise seed; the third group received 53.3 mg/kg of dried herb of vervain and the fourth group received 400 mg /kg of alfalfa seeds. All experimental groups received the doses through orogastric tube daily for fourteen days. Testicular histology was evaluated by light and enzyme histochemistry. Plasma FSH and testosterone concentrations were taken to support our results. RESULTS: Histological examination of anise, alfalfa and vervain – treated groups showed an increase in the height of germinal epithelia. There was marked lipoprotein lipase activity in the whole of the interstitial tissue which is more in amount in experimental groups than that in control group. Acid phosphatase granules were infiltered the seminiferous epithelia mildly in control group , moderately in anise and vervain groups and markedly in alfalfa group. The number of interstitial cells showing marked acid phosphatase activity was higher in all experimental groups than that in control group. Alkaline phosphatase exhibited intense activity in the boundary tissue of the seminiferous tubules in testes of control and experimental groups but it appeared thicker in the latter. CONCLUSION: The low dose and short duration of treatment used in our study made these phytoestrogen – containing herbs to have a stimulatory effect on leydig cell steroidogenesis. This study also demonstrated that aniseed being the most potent of the three herbs followed by alfalfa in stimulating testosterone synthesis. This is possibly attributed to the coumarin constituent of aniseed and alfalfa. KEY WORDS: phytoestrogen-containing herbs, testis, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, lipoprotein lipase
Background: Early detection of subclinical left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction is crucial and could influence patients' prognosis by aiding the clinician to candidate patients for better management.
Objective: To detect early LV systolic dysfunction in asymptomatic patient with chronic aortic regurgitation by two dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography.
Methods: Sixty one asymptomatic patients with chronic aortic regurgitation, with no ischemic heart diseases (by coronary angiography) or conductive heart diseases, no diabetes mellitus, no hypertension, and no other valvular heart diseases (group 1) and fifty age and sex-matched healthy subjects (
... Show MoreWater has a great self-generating capacity that can neutralize the polluting interventions carried out by humans. However, if human activities continue this uncontrolled and unsustainable exploitation of this resource, this regenerating capacity shall fail and it will be jeopardized definitively. Shatt Al-Arab River in South of Iraq. It has an active role in providing water for irrigation, industry, domestic use and a commercial gateway to Iraq. in the last five years Shatt Al-Arab suffered from a rise in pollutants due to the severe decline in sewage networks, irregular networks and pesticide products, as well as the outputs of factories and companies that find their way to water sources and lead to a widespread collapse of water quality.
... Show MoreAt the beginning of 1935 theMinistry of (Yasin AL-Hashimi) was formed which was the result of the (Sulayikh)Conference .The new ministys policy was towards the authority of the one party and the exclusivity of power.The policy of (Yasin AL-Hashemi)has faced severe campaigns from the AL-Ekhaa and AL-Ahaly newspapers.The new ministry like its predecessor ministries . When it faces criticism from opposition newspapers .its shutting down newspapers and not accepting requests for them. Some opposition newspapers named Yassin AL-Hashemi (the dictator).Iraqi opposition newspapers have been neglected and deprived of press freedom although they were the main factor in educating the community and representing the public opinion of people . Lt appe
... Show MoreThe current research aims to investigate the skills of the intended meaning beyond the context when reading poetry among fifth literary students. To achieve the aim of the research, the researcher has followed the descriptive approach and used two tools: an open questionnaire that includes an inquiry about the skills of the intended meaning beyond the poetic context, and a closed questionnaire that were examined by the juries, and modified accordingly. Besides, its validity and stability were examined by applying the study on an exploratory sample of (15) teachers to reach its final version and determine the time required to answer it. Then, the researcher applied it on the research sample of (9
... Show Moreالمواقف افي الدول العربية قراءة تحليلية في مواقف لدولية من التغيير (الولايات المتحدة - الاتحاد الاوروبي - روسيا)
This research aims to identify the impact of the reciprocal reading strategy on developing the innovative reading skills of fifth-grade secondary school students/ scientific branch. To achieve the goal of the research, an achievement test to measure the academic achievement of fifth-grade secondary school students in Arabic language grammar was prepared, a sample of (60) female students from the secondary school of Al- Bawaba Al-Sharkey for Girls in Baghdad were chosen for the academic year (2019-2020). For the purpose of applying the experiment, the test was applied on a pilot sample consisting of (30) students from the same research community. The researcher herself had taught the three
... Show MoreThe predatory bush crickets Saga ephippigera Fischer Von Waldheim, 1846 is the largest Iraqi orthopterans and one of the most active and successful predators in the Kurdistan region. The nymphs and adults prey on all the stages of various species of insects. Twelve adult specimens were collected from Erbil Province during May 2018 and June 2021. Morphological structures of the adult insects were described and illustrated in details; important taxonomic characteristics of body regions with their appendages were chosen; and the results indicated the importance of morphological characteristics which confirmed the identification of this species correctly.
Purpose/ to build clear perceptions about the level of the effects of organizational failures on the competitiveness of dairy factories and the role of dynamic knowledge capabilities in minimizing these impacts
Mythology/ Design approach Use deduction approach, the research was conducted in four dairy factories in Baghdad (Abu Ghraib, Agriculture, Halal and Ayon Al-Rafidain). It was applied to a sample of (155) individuals representing a sample of the research community from factory owners, managers, Engineers, technicians and experienced workers in the dairy industry. The questionnaire was used as a main tool for collecting data, information and statistical tools in the extraction, testing and analysis o
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