Effects of Extracts of Portulaca oleracea on Reproductive Functions in Female Albino Rats

Abstract

The effects of aqueous (AEPO) and methanolic (MEPO) extracts of Portulaca oleracea were investigated on estrous cycle and histopathology of the ovaries and uteri in female albino rats. Treatments of rats for 21 days with 75mg/kg BW AEPO produced no significant (P>0.05) change in the duration of all the phases of estrous cycle. Likewise, treatment of rats for 21 days with 75mg/kg BW MEPO produced no significant change in the duration of all the phases of estrous cycle. Treatment of rats for 25 days with 75mg/kg BW AEPO and MEOP produced no significant (P>0.05) changes in the ovarian and uterine weights of the treated rats relative to the control. Also both extracts did not induce noticeable pathologic lesions or effects in both the ovaries and uteri of the treated rats. These findings indicate that AEPO and MEPO have no deleterious effects on the reproductive functions of female albino rats.

Keywords: Portulaca oleracea, estrus cycle, ovaries, uteri.