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Overall, the antiproliferative and antioxidant activities of some of the extracts lend some support to their use in the traditional medicine of Adamawa Region, Cameroon to treat cancer.

Background Senecio biafrae (Asteraceae) is a medicinal plant widely used by traditional healers in the western region of Cameroon for the treatment of female infertility. This experiment was designed to evaluate the effect of the aqueous extract from leaves and stems of S. biafrae (AESb) on the onset of puberty and some biochemical and physiological parameters of reproduction in immature Wistar female rats. Methods Different doses of AESb were daily and orally administered to immature female rats (13 animals/group) for 30 days. At the end of the treatment period, six animal of each experimental group were sacrificed and their body, ovarian, uterus weight; uterine, ovarian protein or cholesterol level as well as data on puberty onset recorded. The remaining animals of each group were used for the fertility test and some gestational parameters recorded. Results A linear increase in the growth rate of all animals was observed. The body weight gain in animals treated at the dose of 8 mg/kg of AESb significantly increased (p < 0.05) after 25 days of treatment while those receiving the doses of 32 and 64 mg/kg presented a significantly low body weight gain starting from the 19 th day till the end of the treatment period. The ages (days) of animals at vaginal opening (VO) was significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in those treated with the doses of 32 (41.25 ± 0.51) and 64 mg/kg (41.42 ± 0.54) as compared to control animals (43.33 ± 0.73). AESb significantly increased (p < 0.05) the ovarian weight and the number of corpora lutea in animals treated with 8 mg/kg as well as the uterine weight and protein levels irrespective of the dose. No significant effect of the extract on various fertility and gestational parameters was registered. Conclusion The overall results of the present study provide evidence on the puberty onset induction and ovarian folliculogenesis effect of AESb in immature female rat.

Senecio biafrae is a medicinal plant widely used by traditional healers in the western region of Cameroon for the treatment of woman infertility. In the course of the evaluation of its effect on puberty onset and some physiological parameters of fertility, different doses of its ethanolic extract were orally administered to immature female rats for 30 days. Body, ovarian, uterus weight; uterine, ovarian proteins or cholesterol level as well as data on puberty onset were recorded. A linear increase in the growth rate of all animal was observed throughout the experimental period. From the 27 th day till the end of treatment, the body weight gain of rats treated with 8 mg/kg was significantly increased (p<0.05) compared to that of control animals. The age of animals at vaginal opening (VO) was significantly reduced (p<0.05) in those treated with the dose of 8 mg/kg (41.54 ± 0.50) compared to control animals (43.33 ± 0.73). Ovarian weight and uterine protein level of animals treated at 64 mg/kg significantly increased (p<0.05). A reduction in the number of corpora lutea with doses of 32 and 64 mg/kg as well as an increase in the resorption index with doses 8 and 64 mg/kg were also noticed. Overall, the present results provide evidence on the estrogenic effect of the ethanolic extract of Senecio biafrae leading to the acceleration of puberty onset in immature female rat.