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
Melatonin is a potent scavenger of reactive oxygen species or free radicals like superoxide and hydroxyl radicals. The oxidation of hemoglobin to methemoglobin (meth-Hb) by oxidizing compounds has been widely studied. The present work was designed to evaluate the ability of different concentrations of melatonin to inhibit nitrite–induced oxidation of hemoglobin. Blood samples were obtained from apparently healthy individuals from which erythrocyte hemolysate was prepared. Different concentrations of melatonin (10-9-1.0 mg/ml) were incubated for 10 min with the hemolysate, then to the resultant mixture 1 ml of sodium nitrite (final concentration 0.6 mM) was added, and the
... Show MoreChloroviruses are large viruses that replicate in chlorella-like green algae and normally exist as mutualistic endosymbionts (referred to as zoochlorellae) in protists such as Paramecium bursaria. Chlorovirus populations rise and fall in indigenous waters through time; however, the factors involved in these virus fluctuations are still under investigation. Chloroviruses attach to the surface of P. bursaria but cannot infect their zoochlorellae hosts because the viruses cannot reach the zoochlorellae as long as they are in the symbiotic phase. Predators of P. bursaria, such as copepods and didinia, can bring chloroviruses into contact with zoochlorellae by disrupting the paramecia, which results in an increase in virus titers in micr
... Show MoreSome studies indicated a relationship between increased serum levels of osteoprotegerin with arterial calcification and as a result, it leads to the risk of cardiovascular disease. In our study group we selected patients with osteoporosis, with similar age and body mass index for the assessment of the relationship between cardiovascular disease and osteoprotegerin serum level. We took into account the analysis of correlation and association between the presence of distinct patterns of atherosclerosis and associated diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, low HDL cholesterol, increased LDL cholesterol, increased triglycerides and was the case of presence of any type of dyslipidemia,
... Show Morehe planning process is generally aimed at developing the city and making it meet the needs of different citizens. The green areas constitute one of the basic needs of the city and with the rapid and unusual growth in the size of cities, especially in the third world countries, which is often embodied in capitals. Which was achieved as a result of many reasons, including political, economic and social and even enshrined through some of the decisions that were issued and the city of Baghdad, but a clear example of these cities. The city and the environment are inseparable terms. The city is where people spend their lives and their daily experiences, and the environment is the center in w
... Show MoreThis study aimed to investigate the impacts of the Trigonella foenum-graecum (T. foenum-graecum) seeds on the female gonad. A total of twenty local rabbits were used in this study; were divided into four groups (5 each): first group (G1) was considered as the control group. The second group (G2), third group (G3) and fourth group (G4) were fed daily1.5%, 3%, and 4.5% of T. foenum-graecum seeds respectively for 60 days (twice daily). At the end of the experiment, the animals were euthanized by diethyl ether (C2H52O). Then the abdomen was incised, and the samples of ovaries were collected and fixed by 10% neutral buffered formalin. The histological assessment was done with a paraffin embedding technique and the histological sections w
... Show MoreBackground: The use of nitrous oxide- oxygen alone for the maintenance of general anesthesia in obstetrics is associated with an unacceptable incidence of awareness. We have to add inhalational anesthetic drug. But still there is a complaint from the obstetricians regarding the triggering effect of Hallothane on uterine muscle relaxation Isoflurane is inhalational anesthetic drug and recently brought to Iraq.
Objectives : The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the effect of halothane & isoflurane on uterine muscle contraction in caesarian section.
Patient and method: This is a prospective study done on 40 patients in Medical city hosp
... Show Moreيهدف البحث الحالي الى استكشاف علاقات التفاعل والتاثير بين الاحتكام للمكانة والتوجه للفردية– الجماعية والدمج التنظيمي مستنداً على مزج اختلاف القيم الشخصية مع افكار نظرية الهوية الاجتماعية لبلورة نموذج البحث. وفي ضوء هذا تم صياغة عدد من الفرضيات التي توضح علاقات التفاعل ما بين ابعاد الاحتكام للمكانة والتوجه للفردية– الجماعية للتنبؤ بوجود الدمج التنظيمي. جمعت البيانات باستخدام استمارة الاستبيان ووزع
... Show MoreFormulations based on nanomaterials have the ability to reduce the consuming of hazardous pesticides and theirimpact on human health and environment. The present study focused on a comparative investigation of histological effects of nanocapule acetamiprid (NACMP) in vivoand commercial parental bulk form of acetamiprid (ACMP) on albino mice. Nanoformulations of pesticides have the potential to improve food productivity without compromising with the ecosystem. In the present study, nanocapsules containing acetamiprid were prepared from two natural macromolecules, alginate and chitosan. The characterization of the nanocapsules were investigated by Dynamic Light Scattering(DLS), T ransmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Atomic force
... Show MoreThe aim of the research is to identify the educational and psychological effects of the positive and negative aspects of using social networking websites. The researcher administered a number of questions to (250) users of different types of social networking websites. He analyzed his research results and obtained a number of results. The research has reached a number of recommendations and suggestion: Regulating the use of social media. Monitoring the parents of the sites used by children in a way that they do not feel they are observers. It is necessary to devote an hour daily to show the importance of real social life for children other than using social media. It is necessary to show the importance of choosing friends who hav
... Show MoreThe experiment was executed at the Botanical Garden- college of Science, university of Baghdad, Iraq. The period was from November 2016 to March 2017, on the scales of lilium ( Peral Carolina) belonging to the asiatic hybrids imported from the Netherlands. The scales of lily treated with naphthyl acetic acid (NAA)(0,25,50) mg/l and benzyl aminopurine (BA)(0,10,20) mg/l twice after planting to improve flowering characters of hybrid lily cultures . It was observed that at the concentration BA 20 mg/l and NAA 50 mg/l increased the number of bulbues formed about 0.8% and the number of bulbs as 11.3%, while the root length decreased with the same concentration about 5.7%. The fresh weight of the buds, the length of the buds and the number of
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