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
Several new derivatives of 1, 2, 4-triazoles linked to phthalimide moiety were synthesized through following multisteps. The first step involved preparation of 2, 2-diphthalimidyl ethanoic acid [2] via reaction of two moles of phthalimide with dichloroacetic acid. Treatment of the resulted imide with ethanol in the second step afforded 2, 2-diphthalimidyl ester [3] which inturn was introduced in reaction with hydrazine hydrate in the third step, producing the corresponding hydrazide derivative [4]. The synthesized hydazide was introduced in different synthetic paths including treatment with carbon disulfide in alkaline solution then with hydrazine hydrate to afford the new 1, 2, 4-triazole [10]. Reaction of compound [10] with different alde
... Show MoreProstate cancer (PC), accounts for more than one-fourth of all cancer diagnoses, and the most frequently diagnosed cancer among men in 2022. The immunoglobulin (IG) Program death ligand-1(PD-1) cell surface receptor is predominantly expressed on the surface of many cells. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the relationship between Program death ligand expression and some aggressive features of prostate cancer including perineural invasion, vascular invasion and necrosis. Thirty cases of prostate cancer with age range from 60 to 80 year old and 30 cases of normal prostate tissue with age under 25 year old were separated into two groups in a retrospective case-control
... Show MoreBackground. Bone healing is a complex and dynamic process that represents a well-orchestrated series of biological events of cellular recruitment, proliferation, and differentiation. The use of medicinal plants in bone healing has attracted increasing interest because of their lower side effects. Punica granatum seed oil (PSO) contains high levels of phenolic compounds, promotes osteoblast function, and plays an important role in bone remodeling. A gelatin sponge (Spongostan) is a hemostatic agent that is extensively applied as scaffolds in engineering and as drug carriers in the medical field. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of PSO for bone healing enhancement. Twenty adult male New Zealand rabbits, weighing an avera
... Show MoreAbstract Inflammation of periodontal tissues is the consequence of interaction between periodontal pathogens and immune system. This is associated with increased expression of inflammatory cytokines, which may exert destructive effect to the periodontal tissues when released over long period. The aim of this study was to chronologically track the homeostasis of oral keratinocytes following removal of periodontal pathogens. This was done by investigating expression of selected inflammatory markers and integrity of epithelial monolayers in vitro. Rat oral keratinocytes were stimulated with heat-killed Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis over 7-days then bacteria were washed away and epithelial cells re-cultured for 3-
... Show MoreThe present study aims to give some details about the normal anatomical and histological structure of the liver, pancreas and gall bladder in Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758 and Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi (Günther, 1874). Anatomical results revealed that the liver of C. carpio is a reddish-brown in color, located in the anterior part of abdominal cavity and dispersed between most of the intestines, which is divided into two lobes; while in M. sharpeyi the liver is light brown in color located in the anterior part of abdominal cavity and extends to the end of the intestinal tract with two lobs. The gallbladder situated in the right side of the liver in both species. Histological results in both species showed that the liver consists
... Show MoreBackground: COVID-19 is a disease that started in Wuhan/China in late 2019 and continued through 2020 worldwide. Scientists worldwide continue to research to find vaccines, treatments, and medication for this disease. Studies also conenue to find the pathogenicity and epidemiology mechanisms. Materials and Methods: In this work, we analyzed cases obtained from Alshifaa center in Baghdad/Iraq for 23/2/2020-31/5/2020 with total instances of 797, positive cases of 393, and death cases of 30. Results: Results showed that the highest infection cases were among people aged between 41-45. Also, it was found that males' number of cases was more than females. In contrast, death cases were significantly higher in males than females. It was not
... Show MoreObjective Tea lovers are increasing worldwide. We hope that this report is the first to discuss the possible impacts of high black tea consumption on gestational weight gain (GWG) and birth parameters. Methods Throughout one year, a total of 7,063 pregnant ladies coming for first antenatal visit were screened in a major tertiary center. Of them, 1,138 were involved and divided according to their preference into 3 groups: excessive tea (ET), usual tea (UT), and mixed beverages group. The study included women who gave birth to healthy neonates. Results The rate of ET consumption was 4.13% with a total of 41 cases. The UT group (controls) comprised 94 women. ET was significantly associated (P<0.05) with maternal age, parity, occupation, smokin
... Show MoreBackground: Periodontal diseases are one of the major dental pathologies that affect human populations worldwide at high prevalence rates The term periodontal disease usually refers only to plaque related inflammatory disease of the dental supporting tissues. Mouth rinses which act as an anti-plaque agents mostly used as adjuncts to oral hygiene. Aims of the study: To Estimate and compare the effects of Aloe vera relative to chlorhexidine on the clinical periodontal parameters (plaque index, gingival index, bleeding on probing). Material and method: A total of 44 subjects with plaque-induced gingivitis, baseline of data were collected for (PLI, GI, and BOP) and underwent oral hygiene instruction, scaling and polishing, then divided into:
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