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 this study a polymeric composite material was prepared by hand
lay-up technique from epoxy resin as a matrix and magnesium oxide
(MgO) as a reinforcement with different weight fraction (5,10,15,
and 20)% to resin. Then the prepared samples were immersed under
normal condition in H2So4(1 M) solution, for periods ranging up to
10 weeks. The result revealed that the diffusion coefficient
decreasing as the concentration of MgO increase. Also we studied
Hardness for the prepared samples before and after immersion. The
result revealed that the hardness values increase as the concentration
of MgO increase, while the hardness for the samples after immersion
in H2SO4 dec
Objective: This experiment was conducted to study the effects of ionized water on certain egg quality traits and the levels of proteins and enzymes in the blood of the Japanese quail Coturnix japonica . Materials and Methods: One hundred 42-day-old quail were randomly distributed among five treatment groups with four replicates for each group. The following treatments were used: T1 (control): The birds were provided normal water, T2: The birds were provided alkaline water (pH = 8), T3: The birds were provided alkaline water (pH = 9), T4: The birds were provided acidic water (pH = 6) and T5: The birds were provided acidic water (pH = 5). A Complete Randomized Design (CRD) was used to investigate the effects of the studied treatments on diffe
... Show MoreTwelve N-(6-sustirured benzothanol-2-y1) succinamic acids and 3-(6-substitted benzonathol-2-y1)-carbamoyl propionyl chloride were synthesized in good yields from reaction of benzonathol2-yl)
Q-switched lasers widely used in management skin diseases and
sometimes its effect may be inadequate or associated with
cytotoxicity. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of
Q-switched Nd:YAG laser upon cellular elements using in vitro
experimental model. Aqueous solutions of human albumin and pure
calf thymus double strand deoxyribonucleic acid (ctdsDNA)
irradiated with Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at different rates (1, 3 Hz)
and time exposure (up to 60 seconds) using 532 nm (400 mJ) and
1064 (1200 mJ) nm wavelength with fixed spot size of 4 mm. The
effect of laser irradiation on the albumin solution also studied in the
presence of elemental salts of copper, zinc and iron.
Q-switched laser irrad
Objective: To determine the effectiveness of the educational program on nursing staffs' knowledge about uses of steroids and their side effects.
Methodology: A pre-experimental study design (one group design: pre-test and post-test) was used. This study was conducted in Al-Diwaniya Teaching Hospital for the period from ( 28th May to 10 th June, 2020) on a non-probability (purposive) sample consisting of (30 nurses) working in Oncology unit. A questionnaire was built as a data collection tool and consisted of two parts:
First part: The demographic characteristics of the nursing staff (gender, age, level of education, years of experience in hospital, participation in training courses related to nursing care for a patients undergoing
The past decades of the last century and until now have witnessed many crises in the housing sector, and these crises were the result of many problems that led to a weak quality and quantity of housing stock, especially for lowincome people, and Goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals states, "Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, and capable of enduring and being sustainable, we have prepared this research that attempts to answer the following question: Is the current empowerment in the housing sector real and efficient support for people with limited income? The research assumes that empowerment in the housing sector has an important and effective role in reducing housing problems, the research aims to reach the most imp
... Show MoreThis study compared and classified of land use and land cover changes by using Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) on two cities (Al-Saydiya city and Al-Hurriya) in Baghdad province, capital of Iraq. In this study, Landsat satellite image for 2020 were used for (Land Use/Land Cover) classification. The change in the size of the surface area of each class in the Al-Saydiya city and Al-Hurriya cities was also calculated to estimate their effect on environment. The major change identified, in the study, was in agricultural area in Al-Saydiya city compare with Al-Hurriya city in Baghdad province. The results of the research showed that the percentage of the green
The aim of this study is to evaluate the implementation of ICT applications in public service organizations, which is responsible for the implementation of public policy. The study examined the success of ICT in achieving its goals by meeting the main needs of the community members which is the first requirement in the success of sustainable development plans before determine the capabilities of ICT. The main pillar of success in the implementation of ICT systems is the key to improving the efficiency of the organization's performance. This is a reflection of the effectiveness and quality of the services provided to its beneficiaries. The study concluded that the current level of capabilities of individuals working in public organizations i
... Show MoreThe current study shows the cytotoxicity effect of the Crassula ovata n-hexane extract on esophagus can¬cer. C. ovata is a perennial succulent plant belonging to the Crassulaceae family. In Africa, the leaves were used medicinally to cure epilepsy and diarrhoea by boiling them in milk. The hexane fraction, which is obtained through the maceration method, demonstrates the presence of many compounds that have an anticancer effect, which are ob¬tained by gas chromatography - mass spectroscopy. The phytosterol compound was isolated by a preparative thin layer chromato¬graph and was identified by liquid chromatography - mass spectroscopy. The hexane fraction was found to possess a strong anticancer effect against esophagus cancer. The
... Show MoreTen isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, seven isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and nine isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, were obtained from 100 urine samples collected from Baghdad hospitals. All isolates were identified biochemically and confirmed by using VITEK 2 and were then tested for their susceptibility towards 6 antibiotics and for phenolic extracts of Thymus vulgaris and Cinnamomum cassia. All bacteria were greatly affected by T. vulgaris, especially K. pneumoniae. Viable count was performed, it was noted that the number of bacterial cells reduced from 1×108 CFU to 1.2× 103, 2×105 and 1.8×106CFU of K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus respectively. While C. cassiahad a slight effect on them. K. pneumoniae isola
... Show More