The Effects of Tribulus Terrestris on Aquaporin-1 (AQP1) Immunolocalization in Small and Large Intestines of Mice

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the effects of Tribulus Terrestris on Aquaporin-1 (AQP1) immunolocalization in the small and large intestines of mice. A total of 16 male BALB/c mice were used in the study. The control and experiment groups consisted of randomly selected mice, with each group containing eight animals. Small and large intestine tissues of mice were taken under deep anesthesia at the end of the study. Routine histological and immunohistochemical methods were applied on the intestinal tissues obtained at the end of the study. The analyses indicated that the intestinal tissues of all groups had a normal histology, and there was a statistically significant difference between the numbers of goblet cells of the control and Tribulus Terrestris (TT) groups in the ileum, cecum, colon and rectum. AQP1immunoreactivity was detected in the small and large intestines of both groups. AQP1immunoreactivity increased in the apical cytoplasm of the intestinal villus and crypt epithelium cells in the small intestine of the TT group. Application of TT increased AQP1immunoreactivity and might have a role in absorption activities in the intestines.