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 we

Background: Silymarin is a polyphenolic flavonoid
derived from milk thistle (Silybum marianum) that has
anti-inflammatory, cytoprotective, anticarcinogenic
and antioxidant effects. It has been used medicinally
to treat liver disorders including acute and chronic
viral hepatitis, toxin/drug induced hepatitis, and
alcoholic liver disease.
Objective: To evaluate the antinociceptive effect of
silymarin in experimental animal model of pain.
Methods: The efficacy and dose response effect of
silymarin (125, 250, and 500mg/kg) were assessed
against control using tail flick test in mice as a model
of nociceptive pain. In this model, all doses of
silymarin were given intraperitoneally 15 min before
immersi

Activation of farnesoid X receptor (FXR) markedly attenuates development of atherosclerosis in animal models. However, the underlying mechanism is not well elucidated. Here, we show that the FXR agonist, obeticholic acid (OCA), increases fecal cholesterol excretion and macrophage reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) dependent on activation of hepatic FXR. OCA does not increase biliary cholesterol secretion, but inhibits intestinal cholesterol absorption. OCA markedly inhibits hepatic cholesterol 7α‐hydroxylase (Cyp7a1) and sterol 12α‐hydroxylase (Cyp8b1) partly through inducing small heterodimer partner, leading to reduced bile acid pool size and al

The results of this study showed that the tongue of the adult Iraqi domestic cat is divided into three regions of apex, body and root. The dorsal surface of all regions possesses five types of lingual papillae, two mechanical which are filiform and cylindrical papillae, while the other three types are taste papillae which are foliate, fungiform and circumvallate papillae, while these papillae are absent on its ventral surface. The histological examination of all tongue areas revealed that it consisted of three tunica, the tunica mucosa and the tunica submucosa (the lamina propria) and the tunica muscularis. The tunica mucosa consisted of the epithelial lining, which is a stratified squamous epithelial tissue covering the lingual papillae, a

As Alkaloids known for their pharmaceutical importance; this research included the extraction of crude alkaloids of three plants (Zingiber officinale Roscoe., Thymus vulgaris L. and Acacia arabica L.) and evaluate their activity as coagulant agent by using three degraded concentrations of each plant extract and tested them on lab mice through the observation of the variations in bleeding time (BT), clotting time (CT) and platelet count. The results revealed differences in the percentage of alkaloids in the plants under the study; Z. officinale extract was the higher one followed by T. vulgaris and A. arabica respectively. Z. officinale extract was also the most effective plant as coagulant factor than other two plants as it decreased bot

Phosphorus is usually the limiting nutrient for eutrophication in inland receiving waters; therefore, phosphorus concentrations must be controlled. In the present study, a series of jar test was conducted to evaluate the optimum pH, dosage and performance parameters for coagulants alum and calcium chloride. Phosphorus removal by alum was found to be highly pH dependent with an optimum pH of 5.7-6. At this pH an alum dosage of 80 mg/l removed 83 % of the total phosphorus. Better removal was achieved when the solution was buffered at pH = 6. Phosphorus removal was not affected by varying the slow mixing period; this is due to the fact that the reaction is relatively fast.
The dosage of calcium chloride and pH of solution play an importa

This study depicts the removal of Manganese ions (Mn²⁺) from simulated wastewater by combined electrocoagulation/ electroflotation technologies. The effects of initial Mn concentration, current density (C.D.), electrolysis time, and different mesh numbers of stainless steel screen electrodes were investigated in a batch cell by adopting Taguchi experimental design to explore the optimum conditions for maximum removal efficiency of Mn. The results of multiple regression and signal to noise ratio (S/N) showed that the optimum conditions were Mn initial concentration of 100 ppm, C.D. of 4 mA/cm², time of 120 min, and mesh no. of 30 (wire/inch). Also, the relative significance of each factor was attained by the analysis

This study depicts the removal of Manganese ions (Mn2+) from simulated wastewater by combined electrocoagulation/ electroflotation technologies. The effects of initial Mn concentration, current density (C.D.), electrolysis time, and different mesh numbers of stainless steel screen electrodes were investigated in a batch cell by adopting Taguchi experimental design to explore the optimum conditions for maximum removal efficiency of Mn. The results of multiple regression and signal to noise ratio (S/N) showed that the optimum conditions were Mn initial concentration of 100 ppm, C.D. of 4 mA/cm2, time of 120 min, and mesh no. of 30 (wire/inch). Also, the relative significance of each factor was attained by the analysis of variance (ANO