Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2006; 11: 35
An investigation was made to evaluate the adverse effects of some plant extracts to see if any were in relation to the regulation of thyroid dysfunction and lipidperoxidation.
Dose-dependent experiments were performed using three different plant materials, Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) fruits, Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) seeds and Margosa (Azadirachta indica) leaf extracts, in mice to examine the alterations of thyroid hormone concentrations, hepatic lipid peroxidation and activity of antioxidant enzymes. While thyroid hormones T3 (triidothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine), activity of hepatic 5’-monodeiodinase (5’DI) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) were estimated to reveal the thyroid status, for safety evaluation hepatic lipid peroxidation (LPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH) were estimated.
All the three plant extracts exhibited peroxidative effects at higher doses with a decrease in T3 and/orT4 concentrations, hepatic 5’DI and G-6-Pase activities and a concomitant increase in hepatic LPO and decline in. SOD, CAT and GSH.
It appears that the effects of these three plant extracts depend on the amount consumed and are function specific. While the lower doses are non-toxic, higher doses exhibit thyroid dysfunction and hepatotoxic (unsafe) effects.
Financial assistance to Dr S. Panda (Research Associate) from Council of Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India is gratefully acknowledged.
