Abstract

EFFECT OF FRACTION 4 OF PORTULACA OLERACEA ON PLASMA GONADOTROPHINS AND TESTOSTERONE LEVELS AND THEIR RECOVERIES IN MALE WISTAR RATS

Oyedeji Kazeem Olusina*, Adegoke Olajire, Oladosu Adebayo

Abstract

Portulaca oleracea is a fleshy annual herb which is distributed throughout the temperate and tropical areas of the world. Its crude extracts has been reported to cause significant reductions in testosterone levels in male rats. Air-dried specimen of Portulaca oleracea was cold-extracted in methanol for 72 hours. The resulting methanol extract was then subjected to open column chromatography on silica gel for fractionation. Out of the 5 fractions obtained, fraction 4 was then subjected to male rats’ hormonal bioassay. Twenty male rats (120-150 g) were divided into control (distilled water) and fraction 4 (1, 2, 3 mg/kg) treated groups (5 per group) for hormonal assay study. The animals were orally treated on daily basis for 50 days and allowed a recovery (withdrawal) period of 50 days after which hormonal assays were carried out at the end of dosing and recovery periods. Plasma LH, FSH and testosterone levels were assayed using Enzyme – Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technique. Treatment of rats for 50 days with fraction 4 (1 mg/kg, 3 mg/kg) caused significant (p

Keywords: Fraction 4, Testosterone, Luteinizing hormone (LH), Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), Rats.