Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• R. Ghalandari ¹
• F. Ghassemi ²
• H. Kargar Jahromi ³
• N. Gholamzadeh ¹

¹ M.Sc., Department of Biology, Jahrom Branch, Islamic Azad University, Jahrom, Iran

² Faculty of Department of Biology, Islamic Azad University, Jahrom Branch, Jahrom, Iran

³ Ph.D. Student, Zoonoses Research Center, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran

Abstract

Black seeds (Nigella Sativa L.) is a medicinal plant that has long been used in the treatment of many diseases as sexual dysfunction. The present study was conducted to investigate effects of this plant on ovarian tissue structure. In this research, 35 adult female Wister rats weighing 250-300 g were divided into five equal groups as follow: control group (without treatment), a sham solution of water and alcohol, and 3 treatment groups. The hydroalcoholic extract of black seeds was prepared in low, middle and high doses (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg/b.wt), respectively, and they were injected intraperitoneally in three treatment groups daily for three weeks.  At the end of treatment period, the ovaries were dissected, and tissue sections (5μm) were prepared after dehydration, clearing and paraffin embedding. Follicular types were counted and histological changes were studied by light microscope. Data were analyzed by SPSS (17), and the study groups were compared by t-test (P<0.05). The results showed significant decrease in the number of primordial and primary follicles in all treatment groups as compared with control group (P<0.05). Also, the number of secondary follicle and ovarian weight in treatment with the maximum dose (4oo mg/kg/b.wt) decreased significantly as compared with control group. According to the results, hydroalcoholic extract of black seeds showed somewhat destructive dose-dependent effects on ovarian tissue and its use should be avoided during pregnancy.

Keywords

• Black seeds (Nigella Sativa L.)
• ovarian tissue
• follicles
• rat