Effect of Vitex agnus-castus fruits hydroalcoholic extract on sex hormones in rat with induced polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Introduction: PCOS is an important reproductive and endocrine disorder in women in the reproductive age. Present reports indicate that Vitex agnus-castus acts through hypothalamus-pituitary axis. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of Vitex fruit hydroalcoholic extract on the alteration of sex hormones in a PCOS animal model. Methods: Following 14 days of monitoring of estrous cycles of rats, 32 animals with regular cycles were selected and randomly divided into four groups as follows: Control, treatment-control or sham (received 365 mg/kg Vitex extract for 30 days), PCO (received letrozole 1mg/kg for 28 days to induce PCOS) and PCT (treated with Vitex extract 365 mg/kg for 30 days after induction of PCOS). On the last day of experiments, estrous cycles of all animals were detected and blood was collected by heart puncture for evaluation of hormone levels. Results: The results showed that serum estradiol and progesterone levels decreased, while testosterone and DHEA levels increased following induction of PCO. No significant changes were observed in the hormone levels of the sham group compared to control. In the group treated with Vitex extract, a significant increase in serum levels of progesterone and a significant decrease in the serum testosterone levels were observed, however serum levels of estrogen and DHEA did not change significantly. Conclusion: Vitex agnus-castus fruit extract can improve serum levels of testosterone and progesterone in an animal model of PCOS, however it cannot change estrogen and DHEA levels significantly.