Abstract
This study sheds light on various drugs of plant origin which have shown action on thyroid and its functioning as well as on the various factors associated with thyroid dysfunction. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the activity of the aqueous extracts of Fucus vesiculosus, Coleus forskohlii, Curcuma longa L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Camellia sinensis L. and Melissa officinalis L. in regulation of thyroid hormones in serum taken from rats. Fifty-seven female albino rats were divided into 19 groups, each group with 3 rats, and treated orally with an aqueous plant extract in three different doses, except the control group which was treated with normal saline only. Also, a histological study was conducted on the thyroid gland after short-term treatment with different doses of these extracts. The results demonstrated that 5mg/kg of Curcuma longa was the most powerful extract which increased T3 level in a rats serum by 25% compared with the control treatment. Also, the most effective dose which increased T4 level was 1000mg/kg of Coleus forskohlii, which increased the hormone level by 7% compared with the control. Meanwhile, 1000mg/kg of Coleus forskohlii was the effective extract which reduced TSH level by 61% compared with the control. While, the extract of Rosmarinus officinalis 220mg/kg reduced T3 and T4 levels in the serum of rats by 56% and 17% respectively. However, oral administration with Camellia sinensis 1.25mg/kg increased TSH level by 10% compared with the control. The obtained data demonstrated that Curcuma longa and Coleus forskohlii, at low doses, can be very effective for completely treating hypothyroidism in rats.The findings of this study propose that the extracts may have the property to regulate thyroid levels in rats.
Highlights
The thyroid gland is one of the largest endocrine glands of the body that is situated outside of the central nervous system
The decreased levels of thyroid hormones lead to hypothyroidism, but hyperthyroidism is caused as a result of excessive thyroid function
The results indicated the levels of T3 and T4 were increased to 24 and 7% for 100mg/kg and 1000mg/kg treatments, respectively, while the maximum reduction in thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level was by 61% for 1000mg/kg treatment as compared with the control
Summary
The thyroid gland is one of the largest endocrine glands of the body that is situated outside of the central nervous system. The current medical therapies for hypothyroidism are often deemed inadequate because of difficulties in regulating the level of thyroid hormones through use of drugs. It is worth developing new plant-derived agents that enhance thyroid hormone in hypothyroidism and entail fewer adverse effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of various herbal plants’ extracts on the morphology and hormone levels of the thyroid gland in rats. Different concentrations (mg/ml) of plant extracts were prepared according the following equation [8]: Concentration mg/ml = weight/volume x 1000 3-Laboratory animals. These experiments were designed to evaluate the effects of some medicinal plants on thyroid hormones in female albino rats. The doses were diagnosed for each plant based on literatures
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