Reproductive and Fertility Effects of an Extract of Andrographis paniculata in Male Wistar Rats

Int J Toxicol. 2009 Jul-Aug;28(4):308-17.Related Articles

Allan JJ, Pore MP, Deepak M, Murali B, Mayachari AS, Agarwal A.

MVSc, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, R&D Centre, Natural
Remedies Pvt Ltd, 5B, Veerasandra Industrial Area, 19th KM Stone,
Hosur Road, Near Electronic City, Bangalore 560 100, India;
joshua@naturalremedy.com.

The possible effect of extract of Andrographis paniculata Nees (A
paniculata) standardized to >/=10% andrographolide, the main bioactive
component, on male fertility in albino Wistar rats was evaluated, by
orally administering 0, 20, 200, and 1000 mg/kg of body weight per
day, for 65 days prior to mating and 21 days during mating. The
treated groups showed no signs of dose-dependent toxicity. The body
weight gain and feed consumption were not affected at any of the dose
levels. The testosterone levels and fertility indices in treatment
groups were found to be comparable with that of the control indicating
no effect on fertility. Total sperm count and sperm motility were not
affected. The testes and epididymides did not show any gross and
histopathological changes. Based on these findings, it can be
concluded that the no-observed adverse effect level of extract of A
paniculata (>/=10% andrographolide) was found to be more than 1000
mg/kg per day.

PMID: 19636073 [PubMed - in process]

Screening of microfilaricidal effects of plant extracts against Dirofilaria immitis

Res Vet Sci. 2009 Jun 3. [Epub ahead of print]

Merawin LT, Arifah AK, Sani RA, Somchit MN, Zuraini A, Ganabadi S, Zakaria ZA.

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 43400 Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Canine dirofilariasis is a common tropical parasitic disease of companion animals, caused by infestation of Dirofilaria immitis filarids within the pulmonary arteries and extending into the right heart. Increased reports of adverse reactions elicited by current microfilaricidal agents against D. immitis such as neurological disorders, circulatory collapse and potential resistance against these agents, warrant the search for new agents in forms of plant extracts. The use of plant extracts in therapeutic medicine is commonly met with scepticism by the veterinary community, thus the lack of focus on its medical potential. This study evaluated the presence of microfilaricidal activities of the aqueous extracts of Zingiber officinale, Andrographis paniculata and Tinospora crispa Miers on D. immitisin vitro at different concentrations; 10mg/ml, 1mg/ml, 100mug/ml, 10mug/ml and 1mug/ml within 24h, by evaluation of relative microfilarial motility as a measure of microfilaricidal activity. All extracts showed microfilaricidal activity with Z. officinale exhibiting the strongest activity overall, followed by A. paniculata and T. crispa Miers. It is speculated that the microfilaricidal mechanism exhibited by these extracts is via spastic paralysis based upon direct observation of the microfilarial motility.

PMID: 19500810 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Absorption of andrographolides from Andrographis paniculata and its effect on CCl(4)-induced oxidative stress in rats

Food Chem Toxicol. 2009 Jun 17. [Epub ahead of print]

Akowuah GA, Zhari I, Mariam A, Yam MF.

School of Pharmacy, UCSI University, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A simple and validated high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with UV detection has been used to determine the content of andrographolide (AP) and 14-deoxy-11, 12-didehydroandrographolide (DIAP) in rat plasma after oral dose of methanol extract (1 g / kg body weight) of Andrographis paniculata leaf. An increase in plasma concentration of AP and DIAP was observed from 30 min to 3 h after oral administration of the extract. The maximum plasma concentrations of AP and DIAP were 1.42 +/- 0.09 mug/ml and 1.31 +/- 0.04 mug/ml, respectively. Fourteen days oral treatment of rats with the methanol extract (1 g / kg body weight) followed by CCl(4) administration preserved catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in erythrocytes, whereas plasma lipid peroxidation, alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) activities were restored to values comparable with control values. Treatment of rats with CCl(4) did not showed significant alteration (p > 0.05) in plasma total antioxidant status (TAS) as compare to values of control group.

PMID: 19540299 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]