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
Many urban and rural areas fall under the impact of disasters, whether natural or industrial, and with increasing complexity in urban areas, with diversity of economic, social and political components, and technological and cognitive development, the effects of disasters and wars have increased with the time, where disasters are affecting all aspects of life, causing great waste of property and lives, also displacement of populations and disruption of economic life, these effects are multiplied if they are not dealt with in sound curricula and scientific strategies.
The research aims to identify the experiences of some countries and their strategies and effective programs in reconstruction after exposure to disasters and wars wit
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Many cities suffer from the large spread of slums, especially the cities of the Middle East. The purpose of the paper is to study the reality of informal housing in Al-Barrakia and the most important problems that it suffers from. The paper also seeks to study the presence or absence of a correlation between urban safety indicators and urban containment indicators as one of the methods of developing and planning cities. This can be achieved through sustainable urban management. The slums are a source of many urban problems that threaten the security and safety of the residents and represent a focus for the concentration of crimes and drugs. The paper seeks to answer the following question: How can urban safety be improved through urban cont
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A solar updraft tower power plant (solar tower) is a solar thermal power plant that utilizes a combination of solar
air collector and central updraft tube to generate an induced convective flow which drives pressure staged turbines to generate electricity.
This paper presents practical results of a prototype of a solar chimney with thermal mass, where the glass surface is replaced by transparence plastic cover. The study focused on chimney's basements kind effect on collected air temperatures. Three basements were used: concrete, black concrete and black pebbles basements. The study was conducted in Baghdad from August to November 2009.
The results show that the best chimney efficiency attaine
... Show MoreObjective: The aim of the study was to estimate the action atorvastatin(20mg/day) on bone biochemical markers dyslipidemic men. Methodology: This study was conducted between May 2015 and November 2015 in Al-Basrah General hospital in Basra, Iraq, to evaluate important role of atorvastatin (20mg/day)(Lipitor® Pfizer Pharma GmbH.Germany) on bone biochemical markers. Thirty men patients who had been admitted for a variety of medical problems included in the study. All the patients had previously been diagnosed with Dyslipidemia by specialist physician in internal medicine and all patients age below 55 yea
Copper (Cu) is an essential trace element for the efficient functioning of living organisms. Cu can enter the body in different ways, and when it surpasses the range of biological tolerance, it can have negative consequences. The use of different nanoparticles, especially metal oxide nanoparticles, is increasingly being expanded in the fields of industry and biomedical materials. However, the impact of these nanoparticles on human health is still not completely elucidated. This comparative study was conducted to evaluate the impacts of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) and copper sulphate (CuSO4 0.5 (H2O)) on infertility and reproductive function in male albino mice BALB/c. Body weight, the weight of male reproductive organs, mal
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This work involves synthesis and characterization of some new 1, 3, 4-thiadiazole or pyrazoline derivatives heterocyclic containing indole ring. The new 2-amino-1, 3, 4-thiadiazole derivatives [IV] and [V] a, b were synthesized by cyclization reaction of 2-methyl-1H-indole-carbothiosemicarbazide [III] in H2SO4 acid or by reaction of indole-3-acetic acid or indole-3-butanoic acid with thiosemicarbazide in the presence of phosphorous oxychloride, respectively. Amide derivatives [VI]-[VIII] were synthesized by the reaction equimolar of 2-amino-1, 3, 4-thiadiazoles and (acetyl chloride, benzoyl chloride, anisoyl chloride and heptanoyl chloride) in DMF and pyridine as accepter. The new pyrazolone derivatives [XI] a, b were synthesized from heati
... Show MoreABSTRACT : Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common inflammatory neurodegenerative diseases linked with dementia, it is characterized by the deposition of amyloid beta-peptide (Ab) in the brain. The present study aims to innovate a biochemical relationship between AD and interleukin 38 (IL-38) as an anti-inflammatory cytokine, expose novel mechanisms and concepts regarding other biochemical parameters studied previously or recently in AD patients and also examine the biochemical action of memantine (10 mg daily) on AD patients. Sixty (60) diagnosed AD patients participated in the present study and classified into four (4) groups: G3 were composed of (15) newly diagnosed males (52-78) years / without treatment, G4 composed of (15
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