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
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers significant benefits to biomedical research and academic writing. Nevertheless, using AI-powered writing aid tools has prompted worries about excessive dependence on these tools and their possible influence on writing proficiency. The current study aimed to explore the academic staff’s perspectives on the impact of AI on academic writing. This qualitative study incorporated in-person interviews with academic faculty members. The interviews were conducted in a semi-structured manner, using a predetermined interview guide consisting of open-ended questions. The interviews were done in person with the participants from May to November 2023. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Ten academics aged
... Show MoreParties as active units in this process in order to work must have access to sources of funding in order to maintain their political presence in society and participate in the process of electoral competition, To win the election, bolstering the huge role that money has played in influencing the principle of equality among contestants in the elections. Those who own money will have a greater chance of winning the elections while less competitive opportunities for others who do not own the money or what they own does not give them the competitive ability to win elections. From this point of view, controlling political finance through legal regulation and institutional, media and popular monitoring has become an important requirement
... Show MoreThis research aims to explain the effect of the imported inflation (which moves through the raise of global prices to Iraqi economy) over local prices, besides, the recognition the most important channels of imported inflation moving, its causes, effects, ways and policies that reduce the negative effects. To achieve the research aim, the deductive approach was adopted through using descriptive method to describe and determine phenomenon. The most important conclusion is that the research found out that there are two channels to transmission imported inflation in world. The first channel is the direct channel (prices) and the second channel is the indirect (income). The most important recommendation is to create sovereign fund (O
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Antimicrobial therapies are desperately needed since the threat posed by multidrug‐resistant (MDR) bacteria only grows. Bacteriocins produced by
Humanity's relationship with the environment is a delicate balance. Since the industrial revolution, the world's population has grown at an exponential rate, and this has a major environmental effect. Deforestation, pollution, and global climate change are just a few of the negative consequences of population and technological growth. Particulates, Sulphur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are the primary pollutants that harm our health. These contaminants may be directly emitted into the atmosphere (primary pollutants) or formed in the atmosphere from primary pollutants reacting (secondary pollutants. Tropospheric ozone is created When water reacts with volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the presen
... Show MoreIn the last decades, using mineral admixture in concrete became very necessary to improve concrete properties and reduce CO2 emissions associated with the cement production process. Subsequently, more sustainable concrete can be obtained. Ternary blended cement containing two different types of mineral admixture can achieve ambitious steps in this trend. In this research, the synergic effects of mineral admixtures in ternary blended cement and its effects on concrete fresh properties, strength, durability, and efficiency factors of mineral admixture in ternary blended cement, were reviewed. The main conclusion reached after reviewing many literature pieces is that the concrete with ternary blended cement
... Show MoreStudy was made on the optical properties of Ge2oSe8othinfilms prepared by vac-uum evaporation as radiated by (0,34,69) Gy of 13 ray.The optical band gab Eg and tailing band A.Et were studied in the photon energy range ( 1 to 3)eV. The a-Ge20Se8o film was found to be indirect gap with energy gap of (1.965,1.9 , 1.82) eV at radiated by B ray with absorption doses of (0,34,69)Gy respectively.The Ea and AEt of Ge20Se80 films showed adecrease in E8 and an increase in AEt with radiation. This be-havior may be related to structural defects and dangling bonds.
ZnS thin films were grown onto glass substrates by flash evaporation technique, the effects of ? – rays on the optical constants of ZnS these films were studied. It was found that ? – rays affected all the parameters under investigation.
Conventional flexible pavements are released to different types of failure in the initial phases of their service life due to high traffic density, high speeds, heavy loads, and harsh climates. To eliminate pavement damage and failure early, the present search investigates the impact of adding glass, steel, and basalt fibers in the asphalt mixtures. Also, the study evaluates these materials characteristics compared to the mixtures without fibers. The Marshall test and tensile strength ratio test (TSR) were utilized to evaluate the asphalt mixture's performance. A set of specimens were produced by incorporating glass fiber (GF), steel fiber (SF), and basalt fiber (BF) at (0.10%, 0.15%, 0.20%), (0.25%, 0.35%, 0.45%), and (0.15%, 0.35%
... Show MoreThe study was conducted to assess the attitude and awareness of a sample of people regarding the indiscriminate slaughter and its effects on health and the environment compared with slaughtering in a slaughterhouse. The sample consisted of 120 persons from six equal professional groups contacted with the butchery labour (livestock keeper, truck driver, butcher, veterinarian, shopkeeper and consumer). The age ranged 22-76 years old, mean 52±10 years, lived ≥ 5 years in the Baghdad city. The results showed that there is a preference for slaughtering inside the slaughterhouse due to the presence of veterinary examination, slaughtering and preparing meat in a healthy, easy-to-clean places, unlike the indiscriminate sla
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