Circulating levels of inhibin, prolactin, TSH, LH, and FSH in benign prostatic hypertrophy before and after tumor resection

Using specific radioimmunoassays, serum prolactin, TSH, LH, FSH, and inhibin levels were estimated in normal subjects and in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) before and after tumor resection. In the case of BPH, there was a significant rise in inhibin levels as compared to age-matched control groups, whereas LH and FSH levels were decreased significantly. The levels of inhibin and prolactin were significantly reduced after surgery, but no consistent changes in LH, FSH, or TSH levels were noted. The changes observed in hormonal levels in the BPH patients were not related to patient's age or size of the tumor

Evaluation of histopathological and ultrastructural changes in the testicular cells of Wistar rats post chronic exposure to gold nanoparticles

9-15Gold nanoparticles (GNP) have numerous therapeutic potentials due to their ability to cross blood barriers. However, limited data is available showing GNPs crossing the blood testicular barrier. Here we report results of chronic exposure (90 days) to GNPs ranging in size 5 to 20 nm in male Wistar rats. Histopathological and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis show GNPs distributed and accumulated in majority of the testicular tissues. This shows the ability of GNPs of specific sizes to cross the blood testicular barrier effectively, indicating possible insignificant toxicity to spermatogenesis process due to chronic exposure. Thus, GNPs of smaller size can possibly be used for various therapeutic and diagnostic purposes

Bisphenol A-induced ultrastructural changes in the testes of common marmoset

Background & objectives: Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor that is widely used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics, epoxy resins and dental sealants. It is known to have adverse effects on spermatogenesis in rodents. This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of BPA in adult common marmoset owing to its similarities with human spermatogenesis. Methods: Sixteen marmosets were divided into four groups (n=4 per group) and given oral doses of BPA (2.5, 12.5 and 25 μg/kg BW/day) for 70 days to cover two spermatogenic cycles, and the control group received only vehicle (honey). Testes were processed for histological and transmission electron microscopy studies. Results: Histology of the testis showed sloughing of germ cells into the lumen, increase in interstitial space and vacuolation of Sertoli cell cytoplasm. Ultrastructural analysis of the testis revealed several degenerative effects on the basement membrane, Sertoli cells, Leydig cells and other developing germ cells in the 12.5 and 25 μg/kg BW/day groups as compared to control. Interpretation & conclusions: The observed ultrastructural changes caused by BPA in testicular morphology might be indicative of a perturbed sperm production. Considering the genetic and spermatogenic similarities of common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) and humans, the study findings are of significance. Further studies are, however, needed to elucidate the mechanism of action

Metabolic clearance rate of inhibin in mature and immature male rats

The half-life and metabolic clearance rate of human seminal plasma inhibin after injection into male rats was studied. Labeled inhibin was injected i.v. into 27-day-old rats (10 ng, 3.5 × 105 cpm) and 75-day-old rats (15 ng, 5.5 × 105 cpm). In both age groups, rats were killed at intervals between 1-5 and 480 min later, and samples of blood and tissues were taken for radioimmunoassay. [125I]-hSPI disappeared from blood plasma in a multiexponential fashion. The first exponential curve, which represents the actual half-life of hSPI, was 2.34 min in adult rats and 90 min in 27-day-old rats. The slower component of each curve had values of 231 and 365 min, respectively. The initial distribution volume was 13.6 ml and 4.13 ml for the adult and immature animals. The metabolic clearance rate of inhibin in adult rats was 0.12 ml/min and 0.019 ml/min in immature rats. In both groups, only the pituitary and the pineal gland showed specific uptake of inhibin. The pituitary and the pineal uptake (tissue/plasma) was maximal at 120 min (3.9 and 3.4) in immature rats, while in adults pituitary uptake was maximal (1.55) at 10 min and the pineal gland showed uptake (2.4) only at 8 min. In vitro binding of labeled inhibin to the pituitary plasma membrane supported the above observations. We conclude that the metabolic clearance rate of inhibin was fasten in adult rats, whereas specific uptake of [125I]-hSPI was greater in the pituitary and pineal glands of immature rats

Efficacy and safety of a herbo-mineral ayurvedic formulation ′Afrodet Plus®′ in male rats

Background: Reverse pharmacology for drug development has been highly productive and cost-effective in recent past as it is based on the documented therapeutic effects of plants in ancient texts. Afrodet Plus® is formulated for the treatment of male infertility, which contains ancient herbo-minerals. Its efficacy and safety are validated through this animal study in reverse pharmacology mode. Objectives: This study was undertaken to evaluate efficacy and safety of an Ayurvedic formulation Afrodet Plus® in adult male rats. Materials and Methods: Twelve male rats (Holtzman) between 8 and 10 weeks of age were randomly selected and animals were assigned to a control and two treatment groups. Dosing was performed daily. Various parameters such as weekly body weight, hematology, serum testosterone levels, epididymal sperm count, and efficiency of Daily Sperm Production (DSP) were evaluated. Results: It was found that epididymal sperm count had significantly increased in both low-dose (+27.39%) and high-dose (+40.5%) groups as compared to control group. The DSP also showed an increase of 43.7% at high dose of 180 mg/kg body weight as compared to the control group. An increase in sperm motility and especially progressive motility was observed when evaluated by Computer Assisted Semen Analyzer. Histological evaluation of testicular tissue for spermatogenic index revealed that the index had increased in treatment group as compared to control group. Conclusion: This study revealed that oral administration of Afrodet Plus® resulted in significant increase in DSP in the testis along with increase in epididymal sperm count and progressive motility as compared to control group without producing any treatment-related adverse effects. These findings provide the documentary evidence that the use of Afrodet Plus® at 90 and 180 mg/kg body weight is effective and safe for the treatment of male infertility especially to improve sperm count and progressive motility

Negative feedback of secretion of follicle stimulating hormone by the pituitary gland of developing male rats

Rabbit antiserum to human seminal plasma inhibin (hSPI) was administered subcutaneously to developing male rats of 5, 10, 14, 17 and 24 days of age and the size of the endogenous FSH rise in serum was measured. The FSH levels were threefold higher on day 9 and 1.5-fold higher on days 14 and 18 when compared with levels in control rats treated with normal rabbit serum. Furthermore, the in-vitro binding capacity of pituitary plasma membrane to 125I-labelled hSPI declined with increase in age of the rats. Thus, the results of the present study suggest that the sensitivity of the testicular inhibin-FSH feedback relationship is related to age-dependent changes in pituitary binding of inhibin

Evaluation of safety and efficacy of Maa-Lact in lactating Holtzman rats

Objective: To evaluate the safety & efficacy of Maa-Lact granules for its galactogougue activity in Holtzman rats and its effect on suckling pups. Methods: Group I rats were treated as control, group II and III rats were treated with 500 mg/kg, 1 000 mg/kg of Maa-Lact granules for 21 days. Weekly body weights of dams and pups were collected, litter survivability for 22 days and ocular blood samples were collected on 1st day of parturition and 21st day of post parturition for the estimation of prolactin levels. On 21st day blood samples were collected from retro-orbital sinus for haemotological and biochemical estimations. On the same day of weaning rats were sacrificed and subjected to necropsy and individual organ weights were recorded. Results: No significant difference in weekly food weight consumption, body weights between control & treated groups with normal clinical signs. There is no mortaly in dams throught the study period with no significant difference in pups weights. The percentage mortality in pups was 14.43 %, 14.07 %, and 13.42% in group I, group II and group III, respectively. The histopathological finding has shown that treated groups have less convulution and adipose tissue deposition along with increase in length and branching of lactiferous duct and alveolar size. Conclusion: Based on above results, it can be concluded that Maa-Lact posseses significant galctogogue activity

Curcumin-loaded hydrogel nanoparticles: application in anti-malarial therapy and toxicological evaluation

The present investigation involved preparation of hydrogel nanoparticles using a combination of hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose and polyvinyl pyrrolidone. The objective was to exploit the size and hydrophilic nature of the formulated nanocarriers to enhance absorption and prolong the rapid clearance of curcumin due to possible evasion of the reticulo-endothelial system. Reproducible nanoparticles of size around 100nm, a fairly narrow distribution and encapsulation efficiency of 72%, were produced by the solvent emulsion-evaporation technique. This optimized system was further subjected to freeze-drying. The freeze-dried product was readily reconstituted with distilled water. The reconstituted product exhibited a size and distribution similar to that before freeze-drying, drug content of greater than 99% and presence of amorphous drug when analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) which may result in possible improved absorption of curcumin. In vivo anti-malarial studies revealed significant superior action of nanoparticles over curcumin control suggesting the possibility of the formulation being employed as an adjunct anti-malarial therapy along with the standard therapy. Acute and subacute toxicity studies confirmed the oral safety of the formulation. A battery of genotoxicity studies was conducted to evaluate the nongenotoxic potential of the developed formulation thus indicating the possibility of the formulation being employed for prolonged duration

Estimation of plasma levels of bisphenol-A & phthalates in fertile & infertile women by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Background & objectives: Bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates are utilized widely in consumer products. Due to their ubiquitous presence in the environment, a concern is expressed worldwide about their possible effect on human reproductive health. This study was conducted to compare the internal exposure of BPA and phthalates (using their metabolites as biomarkers) in plasma samples of infertile and fertile women. Methods: A sensitive gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) method was developed to simultaneously quantify BPA and four phthalate monoester metabolites [namely mono-methyl phthalate (MMP), mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP) and mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP)] in human plasma. The method was validated using charcoal-stripped human plasma. Activated charcoal was also utilized to reduce contamination from reagents. The method was designed to account for and/or eliminate background contamination from all sources. Results: The limit of quantification for the method was 5 ng/ml for MMP and MBzP, while 1 ng/ml for BPA, MEHP and MEHHP, respectively. The precision and accuracy were well within the acceptable range. BPA was detectable in 77 per cent of plasma samples of infertile women and 29 per cent of fertile women. All the four phthalate metabolites were detected in plasma samples of both fertile and infertile women. Interpretation & conclusions: A GC-MS was developed and validated to estimate the BPA and four phthalate monoester metabolites in human plasma. It was utilised to analyse the plasma samples from fertile and infertile women. The infertile women showed significantly higher plasma concentrations of MBzP, BPA and MEHHP as compared to fertile women. The levels of MMP and MEHP were not significantly different between the two groups. Further studies need to be done to confirm these preliminary findings