The Effect of Maize Plumule Extracts on Rat Mammary Gland Hyperplasia

摘要

The goal of this study was to examine the effect of maize plumule extracts on mammary gland tissue and serum hormone levels in SD rats suffering from mammary gland hyperplasia and to investigate the mechanism by which maize plumule extracts inhibit mammary gland hyperplasia. About 56 rats were subcutaneously injected with progesterone combined with estradiol benzoate for the induction of mammary gland hyperplasia and were then randomly divided into 7 groups. Maize plumule extracts were subsequently given to the rats at doses of 0, 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg kg-1 daily for 20 days. Following treatment, hormone levels in the blood were measured and the morphology of the rat mammary glands was observed by microscopy. Results showed that high doses of maize plumule extracts significantly improved the morphology of lesional tissue and significantly reduced the levels of Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH), serum Estradiol (E2) and Testosterone (T) in the serum and increased the levels of Prolactin (PRL) and serum Luteinizing Hormone (LH). However, the treatment did not have a substantial effect on serum Progesterone (P) levels. It can be concluded that maize plumule extracts containing rich adenine derivatives administered at doses of 2.5-40 mg/kg/day could effectively prevent and treat rat mammary gland hyperplasia.