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 aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of local application of bisphosphonate gel and recombinant human bone morphogenic protein 2 gel, on titanium dental implant stability and marginal bone level. Twenty-seven patients with upper and lower missing posterior tooth/teeth were included in the study with a total of 71 implants that were used for rehabilitation. The implants were randomly divided into 4 groups: 3 study groups and 1 control. Group1; local application of bisphosphonate gel, group 2; local application of recombinant human bone morphogenic protein 2 gel, group 3; local application of a mixed formula of both gels. The gel application was immediately preimplant insertion, group 4; implant insertion without application of a
... Show More
(5)
(3)
Toxicity assays were used in this study to test how DDT affects lethality and brood size of Caenorhabditis elegans (C.elegans) by exposing them to various concentrations of this agent. These nematodes have provided a very informative system that was utilized to study the behavioural and physiological processes. The results showed that DDT affected the lethality in a dose-dependent manner, but 100% kill was not achieved with concentration tested. Whereas, sodium azide, positive control does have an effect on C. elegans and significantly inhibiting lethality (LC50 0.01mM). Similarly, DDT led to a pronounced effect in brood size of C.elegans compared to the mean brood size recorded for the control (0.1% DMSO). Sodium azide results sho
... Show More
The research included preparation of new iron(II) complexes with mixed ligands including benzilazine(BA) and semicarbazone ligands {benzilsemicarbazone- BSCH or benzilbis(semicarba-zone)- BBSCH2 or salicylaldehydesemicarbazone- SSCH2 or benzoinsemicarbazone- B'SCH2}.by classical and microwave methods. The resulted complexes have been characterized using chemical and physical methods. The study suggested that the above ligands form ionic complexes having formulae [Fe(SCHi)(BA)(Cl)m](Cl)2-m {where SCH, BSCH, BBSCH2, SSCH¬2 or B'SCH2 ligands; m=1 or 2}. Hexacoordinated mononuclear complexes have been investigated by this study and having octahedral geometries. The effect of laser ray type visible region have been studied on solid ligands and
... Show MoreCarrageenan extract is a compound of sulfated polyglycan that is taken out from red seaweeds. Being hydrocolloid in nature, carrageenan has gelling, emulsifying and thickening properties allowing it to be commonly used in the oral healthcare products and cosmetics. Due to its bioactive compounds, carrageenan has been shown to have antimicrobial, antiviral, and antitumor properties. The purpose of this work is to study the probable use of carrageenan on the diseases that are related to oral cavity and on the genomic DNA in in vitro experimental model
In this study, the effects of k-carrageenan on four different cell lines related to the cancer and normal cells which cultured on selective media were done. Moreover, the eff
... Show More
(2)
(1)
Background: The vasoconstricting agents: nor-adrenaline and 5- hydroxytryptamine
(5-HT) have a stimulant action on smooth muscle contractility of the rat vas deferens.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of exposure to continuous
darkness and continuous light on the contractility of the vasa deferntia smooth
muscles from rats to applied nor-adrenaline and 5-HT.
Method: Male albino wistar rats were divided into 3 experimental groups. Group 1:
Control animals, were exposed to the ordinary photoperiod each day. Group 2: Rats
were kept in a dark room. Group 3: In a room under a bright artificial light.
All animals were killed after 4 weeks.
Results: Vasa deferentia preparations from continuous dar
The purpose of this study is to underline the progression and development of research regarding oxygen-containing heterocycles as well as the contribution that some oxygen-containing heterocycles have made as anticancer medicines. A series of publications about the antitumor effects of derivatives of heterocyclic compounds containing an oxygen atom, such as furan, benzofuran, oxazole, benzoxazole, and oxadiazole, were evaluated, and their anticancer activities showed encouraging results when compared to those of established standard treatments.
(3)
(3)
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a public health problem and many studies support the link between kidney dysfunction and cardiovascular events. Aldosterone has been shown for decades that a plasma aldosterone concentration is elevated in CKD. Whilst, Osteoprotegerin (OPG), after its capacity to protect bone, also osteoprotegerin is elevated in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), where it could predict the deterioration of kidney function, cardiovascular, vascular events and all-cause mortality. On the other hand, fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), in patients with CKD, its levels seem to increase progressively as kidney function worsens. The aim of the present study is to assess the correlations between serum osteoprotegerin
... Show More
(2)