DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES IN THE GENITAL ORGANS OF YOUNG MALE MICE ASSOCIATED WITH LICORICE EXTRACT CONSUMPTION BY MOTHERS BEFORE AND DURING GESTATION | ||
| IRAQI JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES | ||
| Article 1, Volume 8, Issue 3, September 2010, Pages 14-19 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Nisreen Khazal Faliah; ; Basima Mohammed Al | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Background: Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is one of the most popular plants and widely consumed as a medicinal herb, which is used mainly in treatment of inflammations and improvement of reproductive performance in both females and males. Objective: To detect the effect of licorice extract consumed by pregnant females on gonadal development of their male offspring. Materials & Methods: Mature female mice(No:60), were divided into: experimental group(G,30mice), which subdivided into 3 equal subgroups: G1,G2 and G3(10 mice for each), given extract of licorice root(1gm/kg body weight),immersed in distilled water for 3 weeks before mating (G1) or for 6weeks before and during pregnancy (G2) or for 3 weeks during pregnancy time only(G3) . The other main group (C) was considered as control group subdivided as that with the experimental group but they were given distilled water only. Number and weights of male's newborn were recorded. After 40 days, weights of their bodies and testes were recorded; histological sections were prepared for the testes to detect the presence of mature sperms and to measure the diameters of semineferous tubules and thickness of their germinal walls. Results: Highly significant increase (P<0.01) in litter size of all experimental groups were recorded. Young males born from treated mothers showed significant increase (P<0.05) in weights of both body and testes, and a highly significant increase (P<0.01) in the thickness and diameters of their semineferous tubules in comparison with that born from control mothers. No significant differences were recorded between the three experimental groups. Conclusions: consuming low dose of licorice root extract by pregnant females causes a significant increase in the numbers and weights of the offspring with clear maturation features in the gonads of young males. Key words: fetal development, male gonads, pregnancy, licorice, mice. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| fetal development; male gonads; Pregnancy; licorice; mice | ||
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