Stereological evaluation of volume densities of ovarian follicular components in hyperprolactin rats treated with immature coconut water.

Abstract

Background: Hyperprolactinaemia distorts ovarian structural and functional development, causing anovulation and infertility. The evaluations of volume densities (VDs) of structural components of the ovary such as; granulosa cells, theca cells and antrum have been previously used to measure folliculogenesis and determine the physiological status of ovaries. Immature coconut water (ICW) has been found to contain β-sitosterol, a compound capable of synthesizing steroid hormones in-vivo. Hence, this study aimed to determine the effects of ICW on VDs of follicular components in hyperprolactin rats. Methods: Mature female Sprague-Dawley rats were induced with hyperprolactinaemia and withdrawn to check for recovery status of an experimental induction and another set of rats were post-treated with ICW for 8, 16 and 28 days. The animals were sacrificed at the end of administration, ovarian tissues were harvested and histologically processed for the stereological evaluations of follicular components. Results: VDs of the antrum, granulosa cells and theca cells in the 16 and 28 days post-treated groups (19.25±7.46 ;43.22± 5.10;15.22±3.40 at16 days and 17.70±3.56; 42.75±5.23;15.10±3.60 at 28 days for the antrum, granulosa cells and theca cells respectively) were statistically comparable with the control group (19.76 ± 6.15; 43.75 ±5.71; 15.10± 3.81 for the antrum, granulosa cells and theca cells respectively) while the 16 and 28 days recovery groups (38.57±4.00*;27.20±6.32*;13.66±2.54 at 16 days and 36.58±4.00 *;24.39±5.77*;14.71±2.49 at 28 days for the antrum, granulosa cells and theca cells respectively) were not comparable with the control. Conclusion: These indicate that ICW stimulates follicular growth in hyperprolactin post-treated rats in the same structural pattern as the control group, which can depict a physiological approach.