In vivo fecundity evaluation of Phaleria macrocarpa extract supplementation in male adult rats

"Mahkota Dewa" fruit (Phaleria macrocarpa [Scheff.] Boerl.), is a traditional Indonesian plant-based remedy that has been used traditionally for generations in treating multiple illness and diseases. This investigation intends to assess the fecundity effects of P. macrocarpa supplementation in adult male rats through hormonal, physical and histological changes. Sixty male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly distributed into two by five experimental design with two supplementation periods (3 and 7 weeks) allotted to 5 different doses of extract (0, 24, 48, 240 mg PM aqueous extract/ kg bw and 80 mg of commercial PM product/ kg bw). The mean sperm count (455 cells/ml), body weight (301 g), histological assessment of spermatogonia cells (87 cells), and thickness of seminiferous tubule layer (79 µm) significantly increased (P < 0.05) in rats treated with 240 mg/ kg dose. However, there were no changes in both physical appearances of testes (size and volume) and testosterone hormone levels among the treatment groups. Our findings indicated that supplementation of P. macrocarpa significantly increased the fecundity of rats and the effect was dose and time-dependent. The study suggested that P. macrocarpa offered an attractive and alternative potential for improving the fertility in men

Toxicity effect of Nigella sativa on the liver function of rats.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the toxic effect of Nigella sativa powder on the liver function which was evaluated by measuring liver enzymes and through histopathological examination of liver tissue. Methods: Twenty four male Sprague Dawley rats were allotted randomly to four groups including: control (taking normal diet); low dose (supplemented with 0.01 g/kg/day Nigella sativa); normal dose (supplemented with 0.1 g/kg/day Nigella sativa) and high dose (supplemented with 1 g/kg/day Nigella sativa). All of supplements administered in powder form mixed with rats' pellet for 28 days. To assess liver toxicity, liver enzymes measurement and histological study were done at the end of supplementation. Results: The finding revealed that there was no significant change in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) between treatment groups. Histopathological study showed very minimal and mild changes in fatty degeneration in normal and high doses of Nigella sativa treated group. Inflammation and necrosis were absent. Conclusion: The study showed that supplementation of Nigella sativa up to the dose of 1 g/kg supplemented for a period of 28 days resulted no changes in liver enzymes level and did not cause any toxicity effect on the liver function

Phaleria macrocarpa (Scheff.) Boerl fruit aqueous extract enhances LDL receptor and PCSK9 expression in vivo and in vitro.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Phaleria macrocarpa (Scheff.) Boerl (Pm) has been shown to reduce cholesterol level in vitro and in vivo experiment. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study investigated the effects of Pm fruit on weight control and mechanistic basis of its anti-hypercholesterolemic effect in both in vivo and in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHOD: In the in vivo study, thirty six male Sprague Dawley were randomized to six groups. Five groups were induced into hypercholesterolemia by giving 3% cholesterol enriched-diet for 52 days while one group acted as control. The rats were then treated with Pm extract (0, 20, 30 and 40 mg/ml) or simvastatin for 84 days. The following parameters were determined: (1) body weight, (2) blood lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL and LDL) and (3) hepatic LDL receptor (160 kDa and 120 kDa) and PCSK9 proteins. In the in vitro study, HepG2 cells were cultured in serum-free RPMI supplemented with 0.2% BSA with or without LDL and in the presence of Pm extract (0, 0.1, 2, 40 and 1,000 μg/ml) or simvastatin (4.60 μg/ml) for 24h. The abundance of both LDL receptor and PCSK9 proteins and mRNA were investigated. RESULTS: Pm extract significantly (P<0.05) reduced body weight gain, total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL LDL levels and upregulated hepatic LDL receptor as well as PCSK9 proteins of hypercholesterolemic rats. These results were supported by studies in HepG2 cells whereby Pm extract also significantly upregulated both LDL receptor and PCSK9 at protein and mRNA levels. CONCLUSION: This study enhances the potential usage of Pm fruit for controlling the body weight of obese people and for treating hypercholesterolemia

Alternative supplement for enhancement of reproductive health and metabolic profile among perimenopausal women: a novel role of Nigella sativa

Objective(s): The aim of this open label crossover study was to investigate the effects of Nigella sativa on reproductive health and metabolic profile of perimenopausal women in Rawang, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: Sixty nine perimenopausal women aged 45 to 65 were allocated into the experimental group treated orally with 1600mg/day of encapsulated pure powdered N. sativa compared to control groups treated with placebo for 12 weeks. At the end of study, participants underwent washout period for fourteen days before being crossed over and continued for another cycle of treatment. Participants were abstained from taking any other drugs, herbal preparations or food supplements throughout the study. Body weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure, biochemical parameters and hormonal levels were measured at baseline and at the end of experiment for both cycles. Face to face interview was carried out at baseline and every week to check for compliance, minimize dropouts and to record reproductive health and quality of life indicators using Greene climacteric and SF-36 instruments. Results: The treatment groups in both cycles showed significant improvement with reference to low density lipoprotein cholesterol and blood glucose (P<0.05). There were no significant differences between groups in total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein and triglyceride concentration. Treatment with N. sativa induced a significant reduction of prevalence and severity of menopausal symptomsas well as significant improvement in some components of quality of life (P<0.05). Conclusion: These results suggested that treatment with N. sativa exert a therapeutic and protective effect by modifying weight gain, improving lipid profile and blood glucose as well as hormonal level which is believed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome during menopause

Metabolic impact of nigella sativa extracts on experimental menopause induced rats.

The aim of current study was to investigate the effects of different extracts of Nigella sativa on metabolic profile of ovariectomized rats. Forty ovariectomized Sprague Dawley rats were used in the study and randomly allotted into one of five experimental groups: treated with Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE), Methanol Extract and Hexane Extract of N.S (300mg/kg/day) compared to vehicle control (Olive oil 1ml) and estrogen group (0.2mg/kg Conjugated Equine Estrogen) by intra-gastric gavage as negative and positive control group respectively for 21 days. Food and water intake were measured daily and body weight and biochemical parameters were measured at baseline, 11th day and at the end of experiment. The treatment groups showed significant (P < 0.05) improvement with reference to low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and blood glucose (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between groups in total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein and serum triglyceride concentration. These results suggested that treatment with Nigella sativa extracts exert a therapeutic and protective effect by modifying weight gain, improving lipid profile and blood glucose as well as hormonal level which is believed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome during menopause

A review of Menopaysal symptoms management with herbal remedies

Background: Women are frequent users of complementary and alternative medicine(CAM)therapies for menopausal symptoms in many countries. Therapies of choice were herbal remedies, chiropractic, and meditation. Recently, dietary supplements and foods containing phytoestrogens have become increasingly popular, despite the lack of data from clinical trials. Purpose: To review randomized, controlled trials of herbal remedies for menopausal symptoms in order to better inform practice and guide future research. Data Sources: MEDLINE and Cochrane Library database (1980 February 2008) were searched for relevant trials that provided data on treatment of menopausal symptoms using 1 or more herbal remedies. Study Selection: All English language, controlled trials and meta-analyses comparing a botanical with placebo or control for relieving menopausal symptoms. Data Extraction: All eligible trials were identified, subjected to inclusion and exclusion criteria, reviewed, and abstracted into evidence tables. Data Synthesis: From 3119 identified abstracts, 85 trials met inclusion criteria, including 50 trials of isoflavones, 15 trials of Black Cohosh, 8 trials of combination of botanicals and other studies were belong to the other herbs. Conclusion: Although individual trials suggest benefits from certain therapies, data were insufficient to support the effectiveness of any botanicals in this review for the management of menopausal symptoms. Many of these potential therapies warrant further study in trials with rigorous scientific designs to determine benefit and safety

Anti-hyperglycemic effect of Phaleria macrocarpa fruit aqueous extract in type I diabetic mellitus-induced rats

Phaleria macrocarpa is used traditionally to treat various diseases. Its fruits are claimed to give antihyperglycemic effect to those people suffering from diabetes mellitus. The scientific information on the hypoglycemic properties however is not conclusive. For this reason, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the anti-hyperglycemic properties of P. macrocarpa fruit aqueous extract in diabetic-induced rats. A two by three randomized experimental design was used with two periods of supplementation (14 and 28 days) and three concentration levels (0, 90 and 180 mg / kg) of P. macrocarpa fruit aqueous extract as the factors. Thirty six diabetic-induced Sprague Drawly female rats were divided into six groups and each group was allocated to one of the treatment. Rats in each group were administered with 0.2 ml of P. macrocarpa fruit aqueous extract orally once a day. The blood glucose level was measured twice a week while the bodyweight of the animals were monitored once a week. The means of body weight of diabetic-induced rats for 28 days of P. macrocarpa supplementation at 0, 90 and 180 mg/kg were 202.67±32.77, 186.69±32.41 and 225.53±20.65 g respectively. The means of body weight of diabetic-induced rats for 14 days of PM supplementation were 188.47±44.21, 192.36±30.29 and 218.89±25.37 g for 0, 90 and 180 mg / kg of P. macrocarpa supplementation respectively. The means of blood glucose level of diabetic-induced rats for 28 days of P. macrocarpa supplementation at 0, 90 and 180 mg/kg were 19.26±4.47, 12.94±7.58 and 10.23±4.07 mmol/L respectively. The means of blood glucose level of diabetic-induced rats for 14 days of PM supplementation at 0, 90 and 180 mg/kg were 20.73±6.48, 12.80±6.21 and 10.89±5.79 mmol/L respectively. The results showed that P. macrocarpa has anti hyperglycemic activity by reducing blood glucose level in diabetic-induced rats and the effect was found to be dose dependent. Consumption of P. macrocarpa fruit aqueous extract for a minimum of 17 days at the dose of at least 90 mg/kg was found to be sufficiently reduced the blood glucose level to the normal level in diabetic-induced rats

Anti-hypercholesterolemic property of Phaleria macrocarpa fruit aqueous extract in hypercholesterolemia-induced rats

Phaleria macocarpa is a herb that been used in traditional medicine and has been claimed that P. macocarpa could cure hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, cancer and others. The scientific information on the therapeutic effects of this herb however is rather limited. In this study, antihypercholesterolemic property of various concentration of Pm aqueous fruit extract and the extend of its effects compared with Simvastatin was determined. In the study, 36 female rats were divided into 6 groups equally. Five groups were fed with 3% pure cholesterol during pre treatment (2 weeks) and treatment periods (4 weeks). Supplementation of 1 ml of the P. macocarpa extract (0, 67, 134 and 183 mg/kg bw) and Simvastatin (0.33 mg/kg bw) was given during treatment period. Blood samples were collected before and after the supplementation periods via cardiac puncture to analyze the total cholesterol (TG), triglycerides (TRG), high density lipid (HDL) and low density lipid (LDL) levels. The results shows that the mean difference of the total cholesterol after and before supplementation of P. macocarpa for negative control, 0, 67, 134, 183 mg/kg bw and simvastatin was 0.05±0.49, 0.87±1.56, -0.95±1.74, -0.66±1.66, -0.59±0.48 and -0.48±0.61 mmol/L. The mean difference for Triglycerides was -0.73±0.67, 0.28±1.74, -3.14±1.68, -1.24±1.16, -1.22±0.94 and 0.16±0.18. The mean difference for the HDL was 0.28±0.35, 0.13±0.50, 0.41±0.44, 0.11±0.45, 0.06±0.19 and -0.42±1.35 while the mean difference of the LDL was 0.07±0.08, 0.35±0.53, 0.22±1.28, -0.15±1.15, -0.48±0.75 and -0.05±0.54. The study concludes that P. macocarpa significantly reduced triglycerides level (P<0.05) and showed a tendency to reduce other lipid profiles. The effect of P. macocarpa supplementation was dose-dependant and P. macocarpa at the concentration of 44 mg/kg bw showed the same cholesterol reducing effect as simvastatin. Thus, P. macocarpa has anti hypercholesterolemic effect on hypercholesterolemic-induced rats