Effect of the juice of lime (Citrus aurantifolia) on estrous cycle and ovulation of Sprague-Dawley rats.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of lime juice on the estrous cycle and ovulation of cyclic female rats. METHODS: Twenty-five adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were used. The study was divided into 2 experiments (I and II). In experiment I, 15 rats were randomly subclassified into 3 groups (Ia, Ib, and Ic) of 5 rats each. The estrous cycles of the rats were studied for the first 16 days to establish cyclicity, after which lime juice was administered by gastric gavage for the next 24 days. Rats in group Ia received 1 mL of undiluted lime juice, rats in group Ib received 1 mL of 50% diluted lime juice, and rats in group Ic (control animals) received only distilled water. In experiment II, 10 female rats were used and were categorized into 2 groups (IIa and IIb), with 5 rats in each group. Rats in group IIa received 1 mL of undiluted lime juice during the morning of proestrus, and those in group IIb received only distilled water on the day of proestrus. The rats were killed the next day with use of chloroform anesthesia. The upper parts of the oviducts were excised and examined under the light microscope for assessment of the number of ova shed. RESULTS: There was an irregular pattern in all phases of the estrous cycle of 100% of the rats given undiluted lime juice and in 80% of those given 50% diluted lime juice. There was a significant (P = .001) reduction in the number of ova shed in rats administered undiluted lime juice in comparison with the control animals. Ovulation was partially blocked, as shown by the reduced number of ova observed in the oviducts from the rats given undiluted lime juice (5.10 +/- 2.37) in comparison with the control rats (12.70 +/- 1.14). CONCLUSION: In rats, lime juice causes irregularity of the estrous cycle, partially blocks ovulation, and may possibly compromise fertility.

Antiovulatory and anti-implantation potential of the methanolic extract of seeds of Abrus precatorius in the rat.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of the methanolic extract of seeds of Abrus precatorius on the estrous cycle, ovulation, and implantation of fetuses in Sprague-Dawley rats. METHODS: Cyclic female rats were randomly classified into 4 groups (A through D). Treated rats in group A had daily vaginal smears for a total of 64 consecutive days while being fed A precatorius extract for the first 32 of those days. Treated rats in group B received a single oral dose of the extract on the day of proestrus and were killed the following morning so that shed ova could be counted. Treated rats in group C received A precatorius extract from postcoital day 1 to 10 and were killed on day 12 to assess for anti-implantation effect, whereas the treated dams in group D received the extract from the 6th to the 19th day of gestation. The control animals in all 4 groups received an equal volume of distilled water. RESULTS: The methanolic extract of A precatorius caused a reversible disruption in the estrous cycle of the regularly cyclic rats and completely blocked ovulation in all the treated rats. Despite successful mating of the female rats with male rats of proven fertility, uterine dissection on postcoital day 12 revealed neither implantation nor resorption sites in all the animals treated with A precatorius. The extract of A precatorius caused a decrease in mean body weight, mean crown-rump length, and mean tail length of fetuses of the treated rats. CONCLUSION: There is a need to continue the search for new antifertility agents that have minimal side effects and widespread acceptability in addition to being reversible, affordable, and accessible. In this study, methanolic extract of A precatorius seeds caused reversible alterations in the estrous cycle pattern and completely blocked ovulation in Sprague-Dawley rats. In addition, the extract demonstrated anti-implantation activity and the potential to affect gross fetal morphometry in rats.