Evaluation of the Effect of Ethanol Bark Extract of Moringa oleifera on Reproductive Biology of Non-pregnant Wistar Albino Rats

Aim: This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of ethanol bark extract of Moringa oleifera (EBMO) on reproductive hormone levels and organ histology in non-pregnant Wistar rats.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria; between March and May, 2017.

Methodology: The study was conducted using 40 non-pregnant adult female rats which were divided into four groups (n=10 per group), labelled as groups I, II, III and IV. Group I was the control (given only distilled water), whereas rats in groups II, III and IV were orally administered EBMO (100, 200 and 400mg/kg, respectively) daily for 30 days. At the end of treatment, blood was collected for estimation of serum concentrations of progesterone, estradiol, prolactin, Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH). The ovaries, uteri and fallopian tubes of the rats were examined for histologic changes.

Results: There was a non-significant decline in the concentrations of progesterone and estradiol in EBMO treated rats compared to control. No changes occurred in the serum levels of prolactin, LH and FSH after EBMO treatment. Also, there were no alterations in the histology of all three organs in EBMO treated rats when compared to control.

Conclusion: Results indicate that subacute administration of EBMO does not cause alterations of serum concentrations of reproductive hormones or histology of reproductive organs in non-pregnant Wistar rats.