Evaluation of Matcha (Camellia sinensis) and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) Efficacy Against Utero-Ovarian Injury in Rats.

Abstract

&lt;b&gt;Background and Objective:&lt;/b&gt; Female infertility and reproductive problems have increased worldwide. Medical treatment of such conditions has high costs with various side effects. Alternative medicine, essentially herbal plants, has been projecting to improve female infertility and reproductive health. This study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of single or combined administration of matcha and ashwagandha teas against H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;-induced Utero-ovarian oxidative injury and cell death in female rats. &lt;b&gt;Materials and Methods:&lt;/b&gt; Fifty adult female rats were used. Ten rats were kept healthy while in others Utero-ovarian oxidative injury was induced by drinking 1% H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; water &lt;i&gt;ad libitum&lt;/i&gt;. Injured rats were divided into 4 groups (10 rats/each), one group set as injured control and the other 3 groups the doses of supplemented teas were 200 mg kg&lt;sup&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; b.wt. and 100 mg kg&lt;sup&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; b.wt. from each or both teas, respectively. &lt;b&gt;Results:&lt;/b&gt; The results displayed that both teas contain active components including flavonoids, polyphenols and possess antioxidant activity. Drinking 1% H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; water significantly (p&lt;u&gt;<&lt;/u&gt;0.01)decreased the estrous cycle time, body, ovary and uterus weights, serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), progesterone and estrogen (E2) levels, uterine and ovarian superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and reduced glutathione (GSH) level while caused a substantial increase (p&lt;u&gt;<&lt;/u&gt;0.01) in uterine and ovarian malondialdehyde (MDA) level, DNA fragmentation percent, caspase-3 (Casp-3), 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels as well as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activity. Moreover, microscopic observations of uterine and ovarian tissues were consistent with the biochemical results. &lt;b&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/b&gt; Oral administration of tested teas improved and ameliorated all the biochemical and microscopic observations by restricting cellular DNA damage and protecting uterine and ovarian tissues from oxidative injury and cell death. The best improvement was observed in the matcha administered group.