In vivo and in vitro estrogenic activity of extracts from Erythrina poeppigiana (Fabaceae)
-
Dieudonné Njamen
,
Sefirin Djiogue
Abstract
In developing countries, around 80% of the population still resorts on traditional medicine for their primary health care. Erythrina poeppigiana (Walp.) O.F. Cook, one of these medicinal plants, was found to be particularly rich in isoflavonoids which exhibited, individually, significant estrogenic activity in vitro. The possible combined effects of these bioactive isoflavones, as they are naturally found in the crude extracts of E. poeppigiana, prompted us to assess their in vivo estrogenicity. We first tested the ability of the extracts to transactivate estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) in vitro using U2OS human osteosarcoma cells. We next investigated their effects in vivo in an uterotrophic assay, using ovariectomized rats treated with the extracts at the doses of 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg BW/d orally for 3 days. Finally, we assessed their ability to relieve hot flushes, using data loggers. At the end of treatments, animals were sacrificed, and organs (mammary glands, vagina, and uteri) were collected for histo-morphometric analyses. The methanol extract significantly and dose-dependently transactivated ERα at all tested doses. All extracts induced significant increases of vaginal and uterine epithelial heights. Only the dichloromethane extract could significantly relieve hot flushes as estradiol. These results indicate that E. poeppigiana extracts have estrogen-like effects in vivo, suggesting that its active principles act in synergy when they are taken in combination in the crude extract. These findings, therefore, support the traditional use of E. poeppigiana to alleviate some menopausal problems; our previous phytochemical investigations contribute to the standardization of this phytomedicine.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for material support. The authors are really thankful to Prof. Dr. Günter Vollmer (TU Dresden) and Prof. Leandros Skaltsounis (U. Athens) for their multiform collaboration.
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A special thought to the memory of Professor Zacharias Tanee Fomum.
©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin / Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Phytochemistry & Product Quality
- Chemical and pharmacological standardization of Ashwagandhadi lehyam: an ayurvedic formulation
- Phytochemical screening and toxicity studies on the methanol extract of the seeds of moringa oleifera
- First report of fingerprinting dried herbal products using a subtractive diversity array
- Preclinical Studies
- Antidiabetic and antihypertensive effect of Virgin Argan Oil in model of neonatal streptozotocin-induced diabetic and l-nitroarginine methylester (l-NAME) hypertensive rats
- Hypoglycemic activity of the Anisopus mannii N. E. Br. methanolic leaf extract in normal and alloxan-induced diabetic mice
- Aloe vera gel protects liver from oxidative stress-induced damage in experimental rat model
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- Antimalarial potential of China 30 and Chelidonium 30 in combination therapy against lethal rodent malaria parasite: Plasmodium berghei
- Structure elucidation and inhibitory effects on human platelet aggregation of chlorogenic acid from Wrightia tinctoria
- Cytotoxic effects of crocin on MOLT-4 human leukemia cells
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- Positive impact of Tai Chi Chuan participation on biopsychosocial quality of life compared to exercise and sedentary controls: a cross-sectional survey
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