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
The present study showed that the branchial arch is characterized by the presence of
irregular black line along its length. This line is condensations of melanocytes . The branchial
arch bears two rows of gill rakers at its anterior (internal) side whereas its posterior (external)
side bears two rows of gill filaments. Histologically, the gill arch is composed of hyaline
cartilage surrounded by mixed bone ,which is covered by a mucous membrane. Its epithelium
contains mucous cells and taste buds, whereas its loose connective tissue contains blood
vessels and skeletal muscles. The histological structure of gill raker is similar to that of the
gill arch except the absence of cartilage and muscles .The present st
to study the discribrion and the pollution in the environment in the south of baghdad samples of waste water from industrail units using the mercury in its process also
Chemiluminescenc (CL), light emitted during chemical reaction, is one of the accurate methods used to detect directly oxygen free radicals. In this study, luminol was used as CL detector, to detect the concentration of free radicals formed in whole blood exposed to high power microwave pulses. The changes in the intensity of CL signal gives a clear relation between the concentration of free radicals formed by radiation in blood and changes in blood properties such as hemolysis of blood cells. This is done by measuring the electrical sytoplsimic electrical properties, the results are substituted in Maxwell-Wagner equation, to obtain electrical conductivity of cytoplasm, which is 18.3 ms/cm, while at suspension med
... Show MoreBackground: Manuka honey (MH) is a mono-floral honey derived from the Manuka tree (Leptospermum scoparium). MH is a highly recognized for its non-peroxide antibacterial activities, which are mostly related to its unique methylglyoxal content (MGO) in MH. The beneficial phytochemicals in MH is directly related to their favorable health effects, which include wound healing, anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of MH on pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-8 and TNF-α) in patients with gingivitis and compare it with chlorhexidine (CHX) and distilled water (DW). Materials and Methods: This study was a randomized, double blinded, and parallel clinical trial. Forty-fiv
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TNF-α-induced osteoclastogenesis is central to post-menopausal and inflammatory bone loss, however, the effect of phytoestrogens on TNF-α-induced bone resorption has not been studied. The phytoestrogens genistein, daidzein, and coumestrol directly suppressed TNF-α-induced osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption. TRAP positive osteoclast formation and resorption area were significantly reduced by genistein (10(-7) M), daidzein (10(-5) M), and coumestrol (10(-7) M), which was prevented by the estrogen antagonist ICI 182,780. TRAP expression in mature TNF-α-induced osteoclasts was also significantly reduced by these phytoestrogen concentrations. In addition, in the presence of ICI 182,780 genistein and coumestrol (10(-5) -10(-6) M) augmente
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The results of the current study showed that the thyroid gland in an adult domestic cat (Felis catus) is located in the neck area on both sides of the trachea at rings 1–5. The gland consists of two lobes (right and left), and it is surrounded by a capsule of connective tissue consisting of two outer and inner layers, and a layer of fatty tissue overlaps with the outer layer of the capsule. In addition, the results of this study found that the histological structure of the thyroid gland is composed of several follicles that appear in different sizes and shapes. The follicles are lined with simple cuboidal epithelial tissue and sometimes appear lined with high and low simple cuboidal epithelial tissue. The gland is histologically c
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The present study aimed to investigate the morphological description and histological structure of kidney in adult albino mice (Mus musculus), The anatomical study revealed that the kidney in albino mice is represented by bean-like shape, smooth with red to brown color, It is situated within the anterior half of abdominal cavity under the diaphragm on both sides of vertebral column. The kidney is covered by capsule of loose connective tissue with mean thickness of (9.6±0.5) micrometer. Histological examination revealed that albino mice kidney tissue differentiated into cortex and medulla, the cortex contains glomeruli with mean diameter of (50.5±1.9) micrometer densely distributed at the peripheral area of the cortex ,
... Show MoreThe present work was aimed to form the baseline data of normal morphological and histological structure features of liver in migratory starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Anatomically, the starling liver bird was dark red -brown in colour and located in the cranial third of the abdominal cavity and consisted of undivided lobes (left and right). The liver right lobe was larger than the left. Histological examination revealed that the liver parenchyma was covered by a connective tissue capsule which appears to be thicker in the rim of liver lobes than other area in the liver lobe. Liver parenchyma was arranged in an unlimited hepatic lobules, which composed of polygonal hepatocytes organized as irregular, radial interconnecting cords or laminae of o
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