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 results of studying the effects of M. anisopiliae spores on mosquito, C. quinquefasciatus showed a biological effects represented by immature mortality. The mortality increased proportionally with the concentrations of fungal spores, which reached (at high concentration 2×1011 spores / ml), to 86.6, 56.6% in first and late instar larvae, respectively. An important to mention that cumulative death rate was significantly associated with the time, which reached to 56% at 7 day after treatment. In addition, M. anisopiliae had a long period permanence in aquatic habitats; in which the residual effects stay 30 days in aquatic habitats after treatment at laboratory conditions. Interestingly, the long period exposure of fungal spores (30 minut
... Show MoreThe present study investigated Haematological changes in Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi, as well as determination genotoxic effects of cadmium chloride on bunni fish by using 120 fingerlings, fish were distributed randomly into four treatments in addition to control group. Fish in first group treated (T1) with cadmium 0.093mg/L with changing water and added cadmium continuously, fish in the second group treated (T2) with cadmium 0.093mg/L with changing water without adding cadmium, third treatment (T3) with cadmium 0.046mg/L with changing water and adding cadmium continuously, and fourth treatment (T4) with cadmium 0.046mg/L with changing water without adding cadmium. Results of blood picture in T1 and T3 showed a significant reduction in red bl
... Show MoreAll new compounds synthesized by many reactions starting from a product the compounds [I]a,b from reaction of 3-phenylenediamine or 4-phenylenediamine with chloroacetyl chloride, then the compounds [I]a,b reacted with potassium thiocyanate to yield compounds [II]a,b. While the compounds[III]a,b yield from reacted the compounds [I]a,b with sodium azide then the compounds [III]a,b reacted 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with acrylic acid to give compounds [IV]a,b and the later compounds reacted with phenylene diamine to product benzimidazole compounds [V]a,b . In addition to synthesized acid chloride compounds [VI]a,b by reacted the compounds [IV]a,b with thionyl chloride .Finally reacted the compounds [VI]a,b with different aromatic amine
... Show MoreOne of the most essential components of asphalt pavements is the filler. It serves two purposes. First, this fine-grained material (diameter less than 0.075 mm) improves the cohesiveness of aggregate with bitumen. Second, produce a dense mixture by filling the voids between the particles. Aluminum dross (AD), which is a by-product of aluminum re-melting, is formed all over the world. This material causes damage to humans and the environment; stockpiling AD in landfills is not the best solution. This research studies the possibility of replacing part of the conventional filler with aluminum dross. Three percent of dross was used, 10, 20, and 30% by filler weight. The MarshallMix design method was adopted to obtain the op
... Show MoreChlopheniramine maleate ( CPM ) , is one of the H- receptor antagonist , widely used in allergic diseases ,like skin rash and pruritis .CPM 3%w/w was successfully loaded in 2%w/w sodium alginate (SA) as a gel base , and to be considered as a selected formula .It was found that the diffusion of CPM through the skin of albino rat was increased as the concentration of CPM increased from 2 %w/w sodium alginate , More
... Show MoreBackground: Diabetic patients have been reported to be more susceptible to gingivitis and periodontitis than healthy subjects. Many intracellular enzymes like (alkaline phosphatase- (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase- (AST) and alanine aminotransferase- (ALT) that are released outside cells into the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and saliva after destruction of periodontal tissue during periodontitis. This study was conducted to determine the periodontal health status and the levels of salivary enzymes (ALP, AST and ALT) of the study and control groups and to correlate the levels of these enzymes with clinical periodontal parameters in each study group. Subjects, Materials and Methods: One hundred subjects were enrolled in the study, with a
... Show MoreA precise evaluation of caries excavation endpoint is essential in clinical and laboratory investigations. Caries invasion differentiates dentin into structurally altered layers. This study assessed these changes using Raman spectroscopy and Vickers microhardness. Ten permanent molars with occlusal and proximal carious lesions were assessed and compared at 130 points utilizing four Raman spectroscopic peaks: phosphate v1 at 960 cm−1, amide I (1650 cm−1), amide III (1235 cm−1) and the C-H bond of the pyrrolidine ring (1450 cm−1). The phosphate-to-amide I peak ratio and collagen integrity peak ratio (amide III: C-H bond) of carious zones were calculated and compared in both lesions. The former ratio was correlated to 130 Vicke
... Show MoreThe aim of this study was to determine the effect of different dietary fat on carcass traits in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). A total of 168 7-week-old Japanese quail (48 males and 120 females) were used in this study. They were evenly distributed into 4 treatment groups, with 3 replicates per group containing 4 males and 10 females each. The birds were fed a basal diet with different fats (sunflower, flax, corn, and fish oils) at a 3% level for 13 weeks. On the last day of the experiment, 12 birds were randomly selected from each treatment group (6 males and 6 females) and slaughtered to determine carcass characteristics included in this study, which were carcass weight, dressing percentage with or without giblets, and the r
... Show MoreHigh intraocular pressure (IOP) is a recognized risk factor for glaucoma and optic nerve injury, and it is one of the primary causes of vision loss globally. Anabasis articulata (AA) is a desert plant found in Iraq. The extract of AA is used to cure diabetes, fever, eczema, and kidney infections. The aim of the study is to evaluate the antioxidant effect of methanol extract of AA on intraocular pressure in the glaucoma rat model. Forty-two rats were allocated into seven groups, each with six animals:: group 1 (normal), group 2 (control), in which animals were induced to have elevated IOP by betamethasone suspension injection, groups 3,4 and 5 for evaluating the effect of 50,100 and 150 mg/kg/day of the tested extract, respective
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