title: Anti-spermatogenic activities of Taraxacum officinale whole plant and leaves aqueous extracts.
abstract: Taraxacum officinale has been used in Jordan folk medicine to treat male infertility. A recent study has proved a contradictory effect of the whole plant aqueous extract. The aim of the current study was to determine if the leaves of T. officinale have similar anti-fertility activities, and whether this effect is mediated through the regulation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). Fifty adult male rats were divided into five groups. Two groups were gavaged with 1/10 of LD50 of T. officinale whole plant (1.06 g kg(-1) body weight) or leaves (2.30 g kg(-1) body weight) aqueous extract; while two groups were gavaged with 1/20 of LD50 of T. officinale whole plant (2.13 g kg(-1)) or leaves (4.60 g kg(-1)) extract. The control group received distilled water. Oral administration of T. officinale (whole plant and leaves aqueous extract) caused a significant decrease in testis and seminal vesicle weight, a reduction in serum testosterone concentration, impaired sperm parameters, and a decrease in pregnancy parameters. Testicular histology of treated rats showed structural changes such as hypoplasia of germ cells, reduction in the thickness of germinal epithelium, arrest of spermatogenesis at spermatid stage (late maturation arrest) and reduction in the number of Leydig cells. Gene expression levels of two SSCs markers (GFRα1 and CSF1) responsible for self-renewal were relatively counter-balanced. In conclusion, T. officinale whole plant and leaves aqueous extracts changed the gene expression of two SSCs markers leading to the imbalance between spermatogonia self-renewal and differentiation causing late maturation arrest.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan;
authors.forename: Lubna Hamid
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Tahtamouni
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan;
authors.forename: Rema Ahmad
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Al-Khateeb
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan;
authors.forename: Reem Nasser
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Abdellatif
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan;
authors.forename: Zainab Ali
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Al-Mazaydeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan;
authors.forename: Salem Refaat
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Yasin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical and Chemical Engineering, School of Applied Medical Sciences, German Jordanian University, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Samer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al-Gharabli
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan;
authors.forename: Ali Zuhair
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: Elkarmi
keywords: Dandelion; Maturation arrest; Rat; Renewal; Spermatogenesis