posted on 2023-11-01, 14:00authored byNa Bu, Alina Jamil, Liaqat Hussain, Abdulrahman Alshammari, Thamer H. Albekairi, Metab Alharbi, Ayesha Jamshed, Rizwan Rashid Bazmi, Anam Younas
Polycystic ovarian
syndrome (PCOS) is a complex metabolic and endocrine
disorder which affects women of reproductive age. It is a condition
in which ovaries produce an excessive amount of androgen (the male
sex hormone). Saraca asoca (Roxb.)
Willd. is a plant of the Fabaceae family. This plant has been traditionally
used as a uterine tonic in leucorrhea and dysmenorrhea due to its
various pharmacological activities. In this study, the ethanolic extract
of S. asoca (EESA) was evaluated for
its potential to be used for the management of PCOS. HPLC analysis
revealed the presence of various phytoconstituents: kaempferol, rutin,
(−)-epicatechin, salicylic acid, and gallic acid. For PCOS
induction, 30 adult female rats were randomly divided into two groups:
the control group (n = 5) and the PCOS group (n = 25). Letrozole (1 mg/kg/day) was administered per orally
(p.o.) for a period of 7 weeks for the induction of disease. Weekly
body weight measurements and daily vaginal cytology examinations were
performed for disease confirmation. After disease induction, the PCOS
group was further divided into five groups (n = 5),
that is, disease control, metformin, and EESA (200, 400, and 600 mg/kg)
groups, respectively, and given treatment doses for next 5 weeks.
After the treatment period, all animals were weighed and euthanized
humanly. Blood samples were collected for hormonal assays, lipid profiles,
and liver function tests. For histological assessment of ovarian cysts,
ovaries were dissected. Livers were preserved to evaluate EESA’s
antioxidant properties. Histopathology analysis revealed that EESA
reduced body weight and the number of cystic follicles. Furthermore,
it also lowered the elevated levels of serum testosterone, luteinizing
hormone, insulin, and malonaldehyde in PCOS rats while increasing
the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone, estradiol, progesterone,
prolactin, and other antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase,
glutathione, and catalase. It can be concluded that EESA exhibited
beneficial effects in normalizing the perturbed hormonal profile and
improved the ovary status by decreasing the cystic follicle and improving
the ovulation status in a dose-dependent manner.