Abstract

Background: Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is one of the most commonly consumed dietary condiments and herbal supplements in the world.

Aim: This study investigated the effect of methanolic extract of Zingiber officinale (MEZO) on the expression level of the Kiss1 gene in the blood and ovary of Wistar rats.

Methods: Fifteen (15) Wistar rats with an average weight of 147g were randomly divided into three (3) groups (A-C). Group A was given no treatment and served as the normal control group. Groups B and C received only oral administration of 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg of MEZO respectively. MEZO was administered once a day for 21 days.

Results: Group C showed a significantly reduced relative intensity of Kiss1 gene expression in the blood compared to the control (p = 0.006). There is also a significant increase between the expression intensity observed in the blood compared to the ovary in each experimental group except in group C (group A = CI: 0.55 - 0.94, p = 0.013; group B = CI: 0.69 - 0.86, p = 0.001; group C= CI: -0.09 - 0.73, p = 0.076). However, there is no significant correlation (between the Kiss1 gene relative expression intensity and reproductive hormones. There is no significant difference in the hormonal levels, oxidative stress, and relative ovarian weights across the experimental groups (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: High dose of MEZO showed the potentials of causing the downregulation of Kiss1 gene expression in the blood without any corresponding change in the reproductive hormonal levels.

Keywords: Zingiber officinale; Kiss1; Ovary; Blood; Oxidative Stress; Histology; Hormones; Gene Expression; Ginger; Kisspeptin

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Citation

Citation: Izuchukwu Azuka Okafor., et al. “The Role of Zingiber officinale (Ginger) Extract in the Kiss1 Gene Expression in the Ovary and Blood of Wistar Rats". Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 4.11 (2020): 89-96.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Izuchukwu Azuka Okafor., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.