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
In the resent years, there is a robust scientific interest in discovery of new anti-septic and anti-oxidant naturally products with no/or limited side effects. The current study aimed to investigate the protective role of the quercetin on inflammations induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in male mice A number of criteria included i.e. liver and spleen index and IL-6 and IL1-β cytokines level in spleen homogenate were considered. Sixty male mice (8-9 week age) was divided into six groups and treated for 5 days as the following: the first group represented control, the second and third group were injected with 5, 10 mg/kg b.w doses of quercetin respectively. While the fourth and fifth groups were co-treatment with (5, 10 mg/kg b.w.) intraper
... Show MorePositron annihilation lifetime (PAL) technique has been employed to
study the microstructural changes of polyurethane (PU), EUXIT 101
and epoxy risen (EP), EUXIT 60 by Gamma-ray irradiation with the
dose range (95.76 - 957.6) kGy. The size of the free volume hole and
their fraction in PU and EP were determined from ortho-positronium
lifetime component and its intensity in the measured lifetime spectra.
The results show that the irradiation causes significant changes in the
free volume hole size (Vh) and the fractional free volume (Fh), and
thereby the microstructure of PU and EP. The results indicate that
the γ-dose increases the crystallinity in the amorphous regions of PU
and increas
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The aim of the present study is to investigate whether or not xanthine oxidase (XO)–derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) may play a role in the pathogenesis of alloxan (ALX)–induced diabetes in rats using the specific XO inhibitor and hydroxyl radical scavenger, allopurinol
The involvement of oxidative stress in ALX – diabetes was assessed by the measurement of plasma and various tissues lipid peroxides levels ( using thiobarbituric acid ( TBA ) reactive substances ). Furthermore, the ability of allopurinol to influence these and other biochemical parameters, including plasma and urine ketones levels were also investigated in diabetic rats.
Rats were divided into four groups: control, untreated diabe
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Background: Orthodontic therapy often causes external root resorption. Serum vitamin D (VD) level is important for tooth mineralization and bone remodeling. This study aimed to test the impact of vitamin D (VD) supplements on bone and root remodelling in a vitamin D (VD) deficient rat model following orthodontic retention. Methods and Material: 30 male Wistar rats were divided into three groups: a control group of 10 rats and two experimental groups of 10 rats each with vitamin D deficiency (VDD) induced by a VD-free diet for 21 days. And a third group with VD supplementAll groups received orthodontic active treatment using a modified orthodontic appliance that applied 50 gm of force for 14 days to move the maxillary right first mol
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Optical properties of chromium oxide (Cr2O3) thin films which were prepared by pulse laser deposition method, onto glass substrates. Different laser energy (500-900) mJ were used to obtain Cr2O3 thin films with thickness ranging from 177.3 to 372.4 nm were measured using Tolansky method. Then films were annealed at temperature equal to 300 °C. Absorption spectra were used to determine the absorption coefficient of the films, and the effects of the annealing temperature on the absorption coefficient were investigated. The absorption edge shifted to red range of wavelength, and the optical constants of Cr2O3 films increases as the annealing temperature increased to 300 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study reveals that Cr2O3 thin films are a
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Background: In spite of all efforts, Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a fatal solid tumor with a poor prognosis as of its high metastasis and resistance to present treatments. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) such as erlotinib are efficient in treating NSCLC but the emergence of chemoresistance and adverse effects substantially limits their single use. Objective: in this study, the combination treatments of either 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) or cinnamic acid (CINN) with erlotinib (ERL) were tested for their possible synergistic effect on the proliferation and migration capacity of NSCLC cells. Methods: In this study, NSCLC model cell line A549 was used to investigate the effects of single compounds and their combination on cell gro
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Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) is one of the most commonly painful cranial neuralgia characterized by paroxysmal attacks as short lasting facial pain along the trigeminal nerve branches. The aim of the present study is to innovate a biochemical relationship between (melatonin, GALNT12 and Zn) and TN and also to examine the biochemical action of tegretol (carbamazepine) as a treatment on the above biochemical parameters. Blood samples were collected from fifty four (54) trigeminal neuralgia patients diagnosed by magnetic radiation image (MRI). Patients were classified into four groups: G3 (40- 70) years composed of (12) diagnosed male (without treatment), G4 (48- 75) years composed of (12) diagnosed female (without treatment), G5 (34- 76)
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