Abstract
Background: Chemotherapy agents can cause ovarian dysfunction and eventually lead to infertility. This study investigated the effect of nasturtium officinale extract on the ovarian function following the toxicity induced by doxorubicin in female rats. Methods: Forty eight female Wistar rats (180-210g) were randomly divided in six groups as follows: Group I, normal rats receiving 1ml normal saline; Group II and III receiving 25 and 75 mg/kg of the extract daily by gavage for 21 days. Groups IV, V and VI receiving 10 mg/kg doxorubicin intraperitoneally on the first day. In addition, Group IV and V received 25 and 75 mg/kg of the extract, respectively. The serum levels of estrogen, progesterone, Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and ovarian Malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined after 21 days of treatment. The mean numbers of various graafian follicles and corpus lutea were recorded after treatment. Results: The mean serum FSH level in Group VI (0.11±0.01) significantly reduced compared to those in Groups II (0.21±0.05) and III (0.23±0.01), (P<0.05). The mean serum LH and estrogen levels in Group VI (0.16±0.08) reduced insignificantly compared to those in the controls (0.21±0.02), and in Groups II (0.23±0.03) and III (0.22±0.09). A significant reduction in the number of primary, secondary and graafian follicles were observed in Group VI compared to the control group (P<0.05). The serum MDA level significantly declined in Group V compared to that in Group VI (P<0.05). Conclusion: The nasturtium officinale extract attenuated the toxic effect of doxorubicin on the rat ovaries and protected the cell division in the follicles and the oocytes maturation.
Highlights
D oxorubicin is an antitumor drug used for the treatment of different cancers, such as breast cancer, solid tumor and gastrointestinal cancer [1]
Serum Levels of Progesterone, Estrogen, Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH): The results demonstrated that the mean progesterone level in Group VI rats that received doxorubicin was significantly reduced compared to those for Groups II and III that received 25 and 75 mg/kg, respectively, of the extract (P
Alterations in follicles: As shown in Table 2, a significant reduction of the primary, secondary and graafian follicles were recorded in Group VI compared to those in the controls (P
Summary
D oxorubicin is an antitumor drug used for the treatment of different cancers, such as breast cancer, solid tumor and gastrointestinal cancer [1]. Doxorubicin has several complications including, bone marrow suppression, ovarian insufficiency and heart damage [1, 2]. The long-term use of doxorubicin causes unwanted toxic effects, such as leukemia and induced ovarian cortical fibrosis and germ cell damage [3, 4]. Doxorubicin slows down the proliferation of cancer cells by inhibition of topoisomerase activity, causing tumor cell death [7]. Doxorubicin increases reactive oxidation, causing heart complications, apoptosis of follicular cells and ovarian parenchymal changes [8]. This chemotherapeutic agent induces damage to the follicular cells at varying growth stages of oogenesis. This study investigated the effect of nasturtium officinale extract on the ovarian function following the toxicity induced by doxorubicin in female rats
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