RESUMO
The effect of chronic administration of kat [Calha edulis] on the behavioural patterns of the male rats [Rattus norvegicus] was studied. Kat administration was found to have drastic effects on the behaviour of the rat. Treated rats were found to be generally less sexually active than control rats as indicated by the shorter time they spent in sexual activities such as courtship and mating. They were also less intreated in the oestrus female and were less willing to accept electric shocks in order to reach the female when tested using the maximal male-female barrier grid voltage method. Kat treated rats appeared to be initially more aggressive than normal rats, but this trend slowly disappeared and eventually kat-treated rats became significantly less aggressive than normal rats. This was essentially the opposite of what was observed in the normal rats whose aggressiveness increases with time
Assuntos
Animais de Laboratório , Masculino , Feminino , Extratos Vegetais/administração & dosagem , Folhas de Planta , Comportamento Sexual , Agressão , RatosRESUMO
The effects of chronic administration of kat [Calha edulis] on several physiological and biochemical parameters of the male rats [Rattus norvegicus] were studied. Cholesterol and ascorbic acid contents of the adrenals were found to be gradually declined as a result of kat-administration. Neurotransmitters in the brain appeared to be affected by kat-administration. Norepinephrine content was significantly decreased and acetylcholine significantly increased in kat-treated than in control rats. However, no significant changes in serotonin level were found. Kat administration also affected the plasma testosterone level; an initial rise occurred during the first four months probably as a result of the stimulating effect of kat, then a general decrease was observed until the termination of the experiment. On the other hand, kat-treated rats appeared to have no significant changes in the urinary 17-ketosteroid level throughout the experiment