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Evaluation of the therapeutic effects of Artemisia absinthium L. on pseudopregnancy model in rats

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Abstract

Researchers have been investigating new treatment strategies for the management of pseudopregnancy, due to some long term causes of this disease including mastitis and mammary tumor. Owing to the side effects of hormone therapy, much attention has been focused on more tolerable treatment options including natural remedies. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of Artemisia absinthium L. (wormwood) on pseudopregnancy model in rats. A. absinthium, which is a perennial shrubby plant from Asteraceae family, was reported to be used as an emmenagogue in folk medicine and was previously shown to modulate dopaminergic system. In the present study, pseudopregnancy model was induced in female Sprague–Dawley rats by injection of pregnant mare’s serum gonadotropin and human chorionic gonadotropin. The petroleum ether, dichloromethane and methanol extracts of A. absinthium, prepared by successive extraction method, were orally administered to the rats at 100 mg/kg dose, once daily for 10 days. Bromocriptine (3 mg/kg/per os) was administered to the reference group animals. At the end of the experiment, all of the animals were sacrificed, the blood samples, ovaries and uterine tissues were taken for histopathological and biochemical analysis. According to the results of the present study, the petroleum ether extract displayed beneficial effects in pseudopregnancy model in rats when compared with the control group. Therefore, Gas Chromatography analysis was conducted on this extract to reveal its phytochemical profile.

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Abbreviations

PE:

Petroleum ether

DCM:

Dichloromethane

MeOH:

Methanol

PMSG:

Pregnant mare’s serum gonadotropin

hCG:

Human chorionic gonadotropin

GC-FID:

Gas chromatography-flame ionization detector

GC/MS:

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

CMC:

Carboxymethyl cellulose

CMIA:

Chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay

CL:

Corpus luteum

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory Animals Breeding and Experimental Researches Center, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gazi University, Etiler, Ankara, Turkey

    Murşide Ayşe Demirel

  2. Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gazi University, Etiler, Ankara, Turkey

    Ipek Suntar

  3. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Fırat University, Elazig, Turkey

    Songul Ceribaşı & Ali Osman Ceribaşı

  4. Department of Biology, Science Faculty, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey

    Gökhan Zengin

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  1. Murşide Ayşe Demirel
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  2. Ipek Suntar
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Correspondence to Ipek Suntar.

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Demirel, M.A., Suntar, I., Ceribaşı, S. et al. Evaluation of the therapeutic effects of Artemisia absinthium L. on pseudopregnancy model in rats. Phytochem Rev 17, 937–946 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-018-9571-3

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