Investigating the Effects of Hydro-alcoholic Urtica Dioica Extract and Retinoic Acid on Follicular Development: An Animal Study

Saade Abdalkareem Jasim; Sana Abdul-Jabbar Ali; Osama Q Fadhil; Muqaddas Kh Rakhmatova; Hamzah H Kzar; Ria Margiana; Moaed E Al-Gazally; Abduladheem Turki Jalil; Zaid Hameed Mahmood; Surendar Aravindhan; Yasser Fakri Mustafa; Mohammed Q Sultan

doi:10.47176/mjiri.37.1

Investigating the Effects of Hydro-alcoholic Urtica Dioica Extract and Retinoic Acid on Follicular Development: An Animal Study

Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2023 Feb 1:37:1. doi: 10.47176/mjiri.37.1. eCollection 2023.

Affiliations

¹ Al-Maarif University College, Medical Laboratory Techniques Department, Al-anbar-Ramadi, Iraq.
² Pharmacy Department, Al-Safwa University College, Karbalaa, Iraq.
³ Department of Histology and Medical Biology, Tashkent State Dental Institute, Makhtumkuli Street 103, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
⁴ Veterinary Medicine College, Al-Qasim Green University, Al-Qasim, Iraq.
⁵ Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.
⁶ Master's Programme Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.
⁷ Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia.
⁸ College of Medicine, University of Al-Ameed, Karbala, Iraq.
⁹ Medical Laboratories Techniques Department, Al-Mustaqbal University College, Babylon, Hilla, 51001, Iraq.
¹⁰ Diyala University, College of Science, Department of Chemistry, Iraq.
¹¹ Department of Pharmacology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, India.
¹² Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Mosul, Mosul-41001, Iraq.
¹³ College of Dentistry, Al-Ayen University, Thi-Qar, Iraq.

Abstract

Background: Urtica dioica (UD), as a natural antioxidant, has positive effects on oocyte maturation. This study aimed to investigate the effects of hydro-alcoholic UD extract and retinoic acid on follicular development in an in vitro fertilization (IVF) condition. Methods: A total of 40 female Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: group 1 received normal saline, group 2 was given 25 mg/kg retinoic acid, group 3 was administered with 100 mg/kg UD extract, group 4 was treated with retinoic acid plus UD extract, and group 5 received 10 mg/kg olive oil. The histomorphometric parameters were analyzed, including the number of follicles, follicular atrophy, fertilized oocytes, 2-cell embryos, dead embryos, and blastocysts. Results: Retinoic acid caused a significant increase in the primary, preantral, and atretic follicles and a substantial decrease in the corpus luteum compared with the control group (p<0.001). The number of preantral, antral follicles, and corpus luteum was significantly higher in group 3 compared with group 1 (p<0.001). Moreover, coadministration of UD plus retinoic acid (group 4) significantly reduced the atretic follicles (p<0.05). Conclusion: Based on the results, UD herbal extract, as a natural antioxidant agent, could reduce the adverse effects of retinoic acid on oocyte maturation in an IVF condition.

Keywords: Fertilization; Histology; Phytomedicine; Retinoic Acid; Urtica Dioica.