Uterotrophic activities of the aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera (Moringaceae) Lam. 1785 on young ovariectomized rats

Abstract

Studies have been carried out to determine the estrogenic activity of Moringa oleifera. However, less data exists on the uterotrophic effect of the extract of this plant. This study aims to evaluate the uterotrophic effects of the aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera in young ovariectomized rats. The plant material consists of Moringa oleifera leaves and the animal material consists of Rattus norvegicus rats. Young rats underwent bilateral ovariectomy according to the guideline of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Batch 1 received distilled water. The animals of batches 2, 3, 4 and 5 received respectively olive oil, 17β-estradiol at 2.10 -2 mg/Kg of body weight, doses of 150 and 300 mg/Kg of body weight of aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera. Lots 6 and 7 respectively received doses of 150 and 300 mg/Kg body weight of extract, each associated with a dose of 2.10 -2 mg/Kg body weight of 17β-estradiol.The animals were weighed during the seven days of treatment. The fresh and dry weights of rats experienced a significant increase (p<0.05) only with 17β-estradiol at 2.10 -2 mg/Kg bw, doses of 150 and 300 mg/Kg bw of aqueous extract of M. oleifera each associated with the dose of 2.10 -2 mg/Kg of body weight of 17β-estradiol compared (p<0.05) to those of the respective controls. Moringa oleifera appears to have uterotrophic effects on young ovariectomized rats after seven days of treatment.