Morphological and functional alterations of female reproduction after regular exposure of bamboo shoots of North East India

摘要

Objective:To evaluate the effect of daily consumption of bamboo shoots (BS) on the morphological features and functional status of the female reproductive system in adult with respect to thyroid.Methods: Adult female rats were divided into control and experimental groups of six each. Control group was given normal diet while experimental group was fed BS by 1/3rd replacement of 180 g of their foodi.e.60 g of BS containing 35 g of goitrogens of cyanogenic origin such that each rat likely consumed 6 mg/100 g of body weight per day for a period of 45 d. Morphological features like changes in body weight and organ weight were noted. Key steroidogenic enzyme levels viz?53β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD) and 17β HSD along with serum estradiol, estriol and progesterone levels were measured. Estrous cyclicity of the animals monitored regularly followed by histological analysis of thyroid, ovary and uterus at the end of experimentation.Results:Increase in body weight, thyroid gland weight and thyroid stimulating hormone, decrease in serum triiodothyronine and thyroxine, a decrease in ovarian as well as uterine weight and the activity of steroidogenic enzymes?53β HSD andβ17β HSD along with diminished serum estradiol, estriol and progesterone levels were noted; while histological plates showed prominent degenerative changes in both the ovary and uterus. Estrous cyclicity of the treated animals were irregular and almost stopped at diestrous stage of the cycle in the latter stage of the treatment as compared to control.Conclusions: Overall results indicates that BS rich in cyanogenic constituents induces biochemical hypothyroidism in the experimental animals that acts in corroboration to cause morphological and functional alteration of reproductive organs indicating its likely impact in fertility on continued use.