Effect of herbal extract Eurycoma longifolia (Physta®) on female reproductive hormones and bone biochemical markers: an ovariectomised rat model study.
BACKGROUND
Each year 1.5 million women experience menopause when menstrual cycles cease resulting from the loss of ovarian function and oestrogen deprivation, a hormone that helps prevent bone loss. This study investigated the effects of Physta®, a standardized herbal extract of Eurycoma longifolia Jack (PEL), on hormonal balance and parameters associated with hormonal imbalance, namely body and uterus weight and bone biochemical markers relevant in menopausal symptoms.


METHODS
Forty-eight Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups of eight rats each: (A) Sham operated; control (B) Untreated (ovariectomised (OVX) with vehicle), (C) PEL 100 (OVX + 100 mg/kg body weight (bw)), (D) PEL 300 (OVX + 300 mg/kg bw), (E) PEL 500 (OVX + 500 mg/kg bw) and (F) Positive control, testosterone undecanoate (TU) (OVX+ 10 mg/kg bw). Group A and B received daily oral administrations of the vehicle, Group C-E received daily oral administration of PEL and Group F received testosterone undecanoate intramuscularly weekly. At the end of 8 weeks, serum calcium, phosphate, bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP), osteocalcin, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinising hormone (LH), oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone were measured, then the animals were sacrificed and uterus was isolated, while weight was recorded in all experimental groups.


RESULTS
Treatment of OVX rats with PEL at a dose of 500 mg/kg showed decreased serum FSH (P < 0.001, 4.25 ± 0.22 mIU/ml) and LH (NS, 4.07 ± 0.12 mIU/ml), while there was a significant increase in progesterone (P < 0.05, 2.48 ± 0.08 ng/ml) and oestrogen (P < 0.05, 11.02 ± 0.13 pg/ml) levels when compared to untreated group. PEL treatment at doses of 100 mg/kg, 300 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg showed a non-significant but increasing trend in serum calcium, phosphate, bone alkaline phosphate and testosterone levels. Ovariectomy resulted in a significant reduction (P < 0.001, 238.81 ± 5.39 mg) in uterus weight in the ovariectomised rats, which was alleviated in all PEL treated ovariectomised rats with an increasing trend of uterine weight.


CONCLUSION
The results suggest that PEL could be protective and beneficial for the management of reproductive hormone and bone markers. Therefore, it could be used to address hormonal imbalances and symptoms associated with menopause.
['M Chinnappan|Sasikala|S|', 'George|Annie|A|http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6806-018X', 'Ashok|Godavarthi|G|', 'Choudhary|Yogendra Kumar|YK|']
D000818:Animals D001835:Body Weight D001851:Bone Diseases, Metabolic D035701:Eurycoma D005260:Female D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones D010052:Ovariectomy D010936:Plant Extracts D051381:Rats D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley D014599:Uterus
Eurycoma longifolia Hormonal balance Ovariectomy