Antifertility effect of aqueous extract of airal part of Ruta graveolens on immature female Balb/C mice

Introduction: Ruta graveolens (RG) stimulates muscles of the uterus, which in turn may initiate menstrual cycles. RG decreases fertility and may also block the implantation of a fertilized egg. This work was undertaken to examine the possible effect of aqueous extract of RG on the reproductive system of immature female mice. Methods: For this reason, immature female Balb/C mouse aged 4-5 weeks were allocated to experimental, vehicle and control groups. After the determination of the LD50 of RG, which was 620 mg/kg, animals in experimental group were given 310 mg/kg of the aqueous extract of RG by intraperitoneal injections every other day for one week. In the vehicle group, animals received similar amounts of normal saline and the animals in the control group received no treatment. One month after the last injection, animals were deeply anaesthetized and blood was collected by cardiac puncture. Serum was separated and kept at -20°C. Ovaries were also removed at the same time, weighed and kept in Bouin's solution for histological analysis. Results: The results showed a significant decrease (p<0.01) in the number of primordial follicles in the experimental group compared to the group of control. Also the ovarian weight, number of corpus luteum and the diameter of remaining corpus luteum decreased. The reduction of the diameter of corpus luteum was significant (p<0.05) compared to the control animals. The number of atretic graffian follicles was significantly increased (p<0.05), while estrogen levels were significantly decreased (p<0.05) in the experimental group compared to the control. Conclusion: Aqueous extract of RG can interfere with reproductive system function in immature female mice by alterations in sex hormonal level and ovarian morphology and might be useful as an antifertility substance.